My Cherry Blossom
by canned.bread
Summary: Sakura's changed in the four years that Sasuke has left. In fact, she's almost over him. ALMOST. So what happens when they meet him on a mission, and Sasuke realizes what he lost? Can he get her back? SasuxSaku, InoXShika, NaruxHina.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Just to let you know, this is probably going to be the very first story that I will finish. I hope you enjoy my writing, and I would DEFINITELY appreciate constructive critism. Please understand that since I am a first time writer, there will be mistakes, although I hope I won't make any. Enough of the blabbering. Onto the story.

I don't own Naruto, but I really wish I did. :D

My Cherry Blossom

Sunlight spilled into the room from the large windows on the wall next to her bed. Large, jaded eyes opened, well-rested from a great night's sleep. Sakura sat up, her pink hair settled over her shoulders. She stretched and took a glance at the clock on the left of her bed. It read 7:29 A.M. "Wow... I think I woke up too early..." She suppressed the urge to yawn as she made her bed. _Well...I guess it's better if I just finish up all the details today._ Sakura looked around the room. She had just bought this apartment for a good deal. She thought it would be a good time to move out. Konoha allowed those older than 12 to live by themselves, if they had a good job and steady income.

Sakura had pretty much finished painting the apartment, and she loved the colors she chose. Her room was a bright red, and was decorated with furniture, touched up with black finish and gloss. Her bed sheets were a soft pink, so light that it was almost white, with a few sprays here and there of mauve silk cherry blossoms sewn delicately on the bottom right of the blanket. The kitchen was a pale yellow, a white, round, wooden table with a beautifully embroidered golden tablecloth adorning the surface. Her bathroom was a sky blue, giant, fluffy towels hanging from the shower rack, a miniature potted tree standing proudly next to the elegant sink. All in all, Sakura had done an amazing job.

Sakura's house was not the only thing that had changed lately. In the four years that Sasuke had left, her body grew more to be extremely curvy, and fortunately also outgrew her once large forehead. Her eyes had also changed to have a more seductive look, instead of the innocent jaded irises that once was on her face. Her hair now reached the bottom of her back, and was usually put up in a ponytail or long braid. Sakura's style of clothing also changed with her body. Instead of the too-big dress that she used to wear, she wore a black one, one that hugged her curves. It was sleeve-less, and had a nice turtleneck around it, smaller than Sasuke's huge one, and still had the Haruno emblem on it, a big white circle on the back. White sandals replaced her old shoes, making her appear more lady-like. Sakura didn't notice it, but she was beautiful, truly beautiful.

Sakura took a shower, brushed her hair and teeth, and ate breakfast. By 8:10, she was ready to go out and buy some more furniture and accessories with the money she earned as an ANBU medic nin. She wasn't in a hurry, so she was content just by strolling around Konoha. Sakura visitied Ino, who had become her best friend again. Since Sasuke had left, there wasn't really a sense of competition between them, and Ino finally realized her feelings for Shikamaru after half a year. Boy, was she surprised when Shikamaru admitted his feelings for her first.

After visiting Ino, Sakura passed by the Ichiraku and found Naruto and Hinata on a date.

"Sakura-chan, why don't you eat with us? You're never here anymore, always on missions."

Since Sakura couldn't argue, and the fact that it was true(she usually didn't stay very long in Konoha anymore), she sat down with them and ordered a small bowl of beef ramen, talking with them about recent missions and old times. At last, steaming bowls of noodles were placed in front of them. Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata all said a prayer of thanks as they started eating. The meal was peaceful, or, at least until Naruto ordered his second bowl of ramen, then his third, and his fourth.

"Naruto! You're gonna DIE if you keep eating ramen like that!" Sakura scolded. Naruto just grinned and continued eating at a rate of 10,000 noodles a minute.

"Hinata, help me, _please_." She could swear that she was getting a migraine from just WATCHING him.

"U-uh-uhm... Naruto-kun... y-you really need t-to stop eating like th-that..." Hinata added quietly. Naruto looked up at the blushing girl and happily remarked, "Sure! Anything for my Hinata-chan!" With that, he finished his fourth bowl of ramen and paid for his lunch. Sakura glanced at her watch. It was 2:23 P.M.

"Naruto, Hinata, I'm gonna go. I have to fix up my apartment," Sakura said as she ran to the furniture store.

"Bye Sakura!" they both waved as she disappeared from sight. Things were silent while walking Hinata home, until Naruto finally decided to say something.

"She's changed, huh, Hinata?" Naruto quietly asked his girlfriend, smiling to himself.

"Yes, she has, N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata shyly replied.

"I just wonder..." he began, trailing off.

"Wonder what?" Hinata asked.

"If... she's gotten over him yet. It's been four years, after all..."

"Well... Sakura-chan can take c-care of herself..." Hinata reassured. Naruto just smiled at his girlfriend. He was so lucky to have her, and yet, Sakura never had the chance to feel this. Someone who cared, would stay by your side, _love_ you.

"Yeah... she can, Hinata. I was wrong."

They continued walking, and he looked to the sky, thinking. _Sakura-chan, I'm waiting for the day when you can finally be _truly_ happy. And that day...I have a feeling that it'll come soon. _

**In my story, Sasukle left Konoha on her birthday**. I just wanted to make sure you knew that. This is just a prologue, the other chappies will be MUCH longer. Please review! Ideas are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Well, I reached my goal of 3 reviews! Anyway, my prologue was REALLY boring. It was supposed to provide background info. Anyways, thanks for everything. I wanted to tell you guys that I start writing the next chappie right after I finish the one before, so if you wanna give me ideas, gotta do it quick. Also, I wait three days after I post a new chapter before I post another one. Those three days are to see how well my readers respond to my stories.

Notice: I hope to see around 5 reviews after chapter 3. If not, I'll delete the story and post a new one.

THANX TO MY REVIEWERS!

**swimtwins03**: lol thanx. I try not to make my stories too long. Anyways, Sasuke's coming on really soon. As for the comedy, I'll add it in as soon as Sasuke comes in. Thanks, keep reading!

**crazy gal42:**I'm glad you like it! yeah, I guess I should keep updating for the people even reading this story. Thanks, hope you read the future ones!

**Sexy.Black.Neko**: lol well, I'll keep going! Thanks, keep reading if you can!

**Cherryblossom-gal: **Sasuke's gonna come soo, very soon, in fact. KAN YOU READ MY MIND! lol I was gonna do that, make him a little mad...as for Itachi, the answer will come soon after Sasuke comes up. Thanks for being my VERY first reviewer!

**AND FOR EVERYONE ELSE READING THIS STORY, THANK YOU!**

My Cherry Blossom

_God, I wasted too much time! Oh well... friends are more important than furniture..._thouht Sakura, running to the nearest furniture store. When she finally made it, she breathed a sigh of relief. The store was still open, but it was closing at 4:30. Sakura glanced at her watch. It was 2:58. An hour and a half. Papers usually took half an hour, meaning only an hour to choose some nice stuff for her house.

_DAMMIT! If only I hadn't said yes to the mission Tsunade gave me..._she angrily thought. The mission was tomorrow, and would end after about three days. Furniture took about four days to be delivered, and she didn't have enough time to buy stuff afterward. Her parents were coming on the fifth day, and expected Sakura to have a well decorated home. After all, she had never told anyone about her wealth, preferring to keep it a secret. Besides, she would rather earn her own money, instead of depending on her mother's and father's all of her life. Independent she was!

So for the next hour, Sakura scrounged through the overpopulated store, asking her attendant which furniture pieces would go well with her rooms. She decided on wooden chairs and a table for her kitchen(tan looks great with yellow), black dressers and bedstands for her room, and a new shower, instead of the old, mildewed one in the bathrom. Next came the dreaded part: THE PAPERWORK. As soon as she finished that, she could have sworn that her fingers were going to fall off.

"Ugh..." Sakura muttered, walking down the street to her home. Looking up, she was surprised to see Neji and Tenten together, linked hands. Either Neji asked her out, or Tenten asked him. Nonetheless, she walked up to the two and smiled. "Hey guys!" Sakura greeted. "Hey Sakura!" Tenten replied, hugging Sakura as tight as she could. Neji only nodded in return. "Tenten, did you ask Neji out? Or..." Tenten only smiled and shook her head. No. "HE ASKED _YOU_!" Sakura screamed in delight, and amazement. Neji blushed, and Tenten beamed. "Yup!" "Wow, Neji, never knew you had the guts to do it..." Sakura teased. Neji walked up to Sakura and poked her on the forehead. The girls just laughed at Neji's shyess.

"Hey Sakura, well... I know it's gonna be hard for you to answer this, but..." Tenten began, trailing off. She looked at her boyfriend, hoping he would finish what she had started. "Sakura, she wants to know if you've gotten over... Sasuke yet." Sakura turned around to face them, a big smile on her face. Tenten and Neji were shocked. about a week ago, Sakura would have started to break down, but here she was, a _smile_ on her face?

"Well, I guess I have! I think of him every now and then, and whenever I do, it's not like how I used to think of him. But now, I can think of him without getting hurt! I guess I realized that he isn't coming back, and that someone else is out there..." Her last words were aimed at the sky. _I will _not_ think of him. I_ won't_... I won't. _

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, surprised to see Neji instead of Tenten, although she was right next to him. They both came close to her face and looked her in the eye, their faced twisited in pure concentration. Satisfied, they stepped back.

"Well, Sakura, it seems you're not lying." Neji smiled. Tenten nodded in enthusiasm. "Sakura, don't forget to bring all your stuff with you on the mission tomorrow!" Tenten warned. "Last time you did, I was almost dead." Sakura grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Tenten. Besides, we have a new medic on our team." Sakura remembered. Neji was surprised. "I thought that ANBU squads were supposed to have only one medic nin." "Well, Tsunade wanted Hinata do be on the team, to make her feel more comfortable." Neji and Tenten's jaws were on the floor. "_HINATA _is a _medic nin_ for _ANBU_?" they both shreiked in awe. Sakura nodded like it was nothing. "Yup. Oh yeah, did Neji transfer to our squad? Naruto and Ino're gonna be surprised once they find you're in it." Neji inwardly sighed. Being on a team with Naruto meant countless arguments, kind of like when Sasuke was here.

"Well, I've wasted enough of your time. I'll see you tomorrow at Tsunade's office, 6:00, morning!" Sakura said as she left.

"Bye Sakura! Stay strong...REMEMBER ALL YOUR STUFF!" Tenten screamed, suddenly remembering. Neji managed a wave.

"Neji... She's gotten really strong, huh?" Tenten asked happily.

"Yeah... she has. " was Neji's short reply.

"Wow... I guess I have to buy groceries and stuff for the trip." Sakura sighed. She'd just got back home, and yet, she had to go out again. "Oh well, it's down the street. 5 minute walk." Sakura gathered up her things and went to the store. She came back, 20 minutes later, carrying 3 bags loaded with stuff."Ow... damn that paperwork!" she mumbled, setting the bag down and getting dinner ready. Sakura finished eating and watched some TV, only to be interrupted by the doorbell.

"Argh...coming!" Sakura was sore and tired, but forced herself to go to the door. When she opened it, she was surprised. All of her friends stood in the hallway, with party hats and bags in their hands, screaming,"HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY, SAKURA!"

Sakura blinked. And again. And again. "Wow... my eyes must be malfunctioning or something..." "SAKURA! Damn, four years, and you're finally 16!" Naruto cheered. _Definitely ..._NOT _dreaming._ "Well... come in first, before you all get me kicked out of here for the noise!" Sakura happily opened the door, allowing her guest to come inside. Everyone oohed and aahed at her large apartment, noting how nicely everything was done.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" a hyper Ino jumped up and down. Sakura was overjoyed that everyone had remembered her birthday and took the time to gather up a party just for her. _That was why everyone was out today! _Sakura realized.

The party went smoothly, and all the presents were awesome! Hinata gave her a new dress(They were the same size), Tenten gave her 2 new CD's, Ino gave her TONS of stuffed animals for decoration, Naruto gaver her a jewelry box, Neji gaver her manga, Chouji gave her boxes of steamed Chinese BBQ pork buns, the list went on and on and on. Last came the cake. It was so pretty, pure white with pink and red icing, along with yellow roses. Everyone sang happy birthday to her as she thought of her wish. It couldn't be selfish, and it had to be good, because she always believed that your 16th birthday wish would ALWAYS come true. It finally came to her, in the spur of the moment.

"Sakura, blow out your cake!" Kakashi happily told Sakura. She took a deep breath, and blew, with just one wish: I wish that Sasuke would come back to us... forever.


	3. Chapter 3

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! It's only been 2 days, and I have tons of them! (Today is June 29th, 2006). Well, this chappie's gonna be extra long for my reviewers! THANK YOU! All these reviews can be overwhelming... I'M ONLY 13, SO DON'T BLAME ME FOR BEING SO HAPPY OVER SOMETHING LIKE 5 REVIEWS! HURRAY!

**hinata's inner universe**: thank you! I like your story, keep updating! Thanks for reading!

**southern rose**: thanks for pointing that out, I didn't realize. Thanks for reading!

**luv hate it**: Thanks! Well, I'm planning on a few twists and turns in the story. I've got a weird mind, it's nothing like anyone elses! haha Thanks for reading!

**MistressBlossom**: Thanks! Please continue reading!

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**Midoriko0124**: Thank you! Well, my plot seems pretty plain, but believe me, this is a story with twists and turns you'd never think about. I like descriptions! lol. Well, here's that chappie you wanted! Thanks for reading!

**Jaded sincerity**: Duuude! I missed you guys! I dunno how you guys found out about my story, but I'll call you later. Thanks for reading, see you later!

**silentdarkheart**: Thanks! Well, here's ur chappie! Thanks for reading!

**Bloodruby**: Thanks! Well, a new chappie for you! Keep reading if you can!

**arichan**: Thanks! Well, here's more to read! Keep reading if possible!

**Sylwia**: Thank you! Well, I updated, thanks for reading!

* * *

My Cherry Blosssom

* * *

Sakura woke up, her eyes tired from last night's party, which ended at 1:12 A.M. Suddenly remembering her mission today, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was 5:06 A.M. Sakura hurriedly made her bed, brushed her teeth, took a quick shower, dressed, and ate breakfast. Afterwards, she realized that she had half an hour to pack.

"Ugh... Missions in the morning..." Sakura muttered to herself, jamming her spare clothes, shoes, and emergency rations into her backpack. Last came her medical kit, complete with anything that a shinobi would need if they came upon an emergency. Next came her kunai holster... and then her hip pouch... and then her gloves... and then her arm guards... then her katana... and decided that she'd put her mask on after she met up with the others.

"Well, time to see Tsunade..." Sakura yawned, walking forward without looking, and as a result, she ended up with a nice little bruise on her forhead. If her mask had been on, she probably wodn't have gotten it. "Screw this, just put it on..." Sakura mumbled as she walked down the main street.

"Sakura, wait up!" a voice called after her. She turned around to find Naruto running behind her. When he finally caught up, they started walking again.

"Sakura, did you like my present, did you, did you?" Naruto asked excitedly. Sakura smiled.

"Naruto, you always know exactly what to get me. Geez... if you hadn't gotten me it, my house would be stuffed with jewelry. You know how my mom is when it comes to me and jewels..." Sakura inwardly chuckled. Naruto was the only friend that knew of her wealth.

"Wow, Sakura. Your mom pretty much showers you with them, huh?" Naruto laughed.

"Well Naruto, my mom showers you with ramen." At this, Naruto laughed even louder.

"Yup! I feel bad though, for taking all the ramen she has." he suddenly seemed guilty.

"NARUTO! You _know_ that my mom hates instant ramen! You're practically _saving_ her!" Sakura sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." For the rest of the way to Tsunade's office, they talked about old times. Those old times were the only memories of Sasuke they both had left.

* * *

"Tsunade-san!" Naruto and Sakura both bowed in greetings for the respected woman.

"Naruto and Sakura, you're just on time. Please, sit down with everyone else." Tsunade made a gesture towards a row of seats, all which had been occupied but two meant for them. They quickly sat down and listened attentively for their orders.

"This will be a briefing of your mission. Please read over it carefully," Tsunade said while handing out folders specifically stating what which person should do. As soon as Sakura had gotten her folder, she quickly opened it and read the main objective. Her eyes widened to twice their size when they saw what their target was.

"Tsunade-san! This is impossible! Do you really expect us to be able to defeat them!" Tenten cried, pointing at the target's picture.

"Yeah! I mean, they're wanted in almost every country now!" Ino blurted out.

"Aww, don't be such babies. Besides, won't it be good training?" Naruto sheepishly grinned. Hinata smiled at her boyfriend.

"SURE! GOOD TRAINING. IN FACT, I'M GONNA RISK MY LIFE FOR THIS ONE TRAINING SESSION." Ino shrieked sarcastically.

"Ino, shut it, will you?" Shikamaru lazily asked.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM!" Ino defensively replied.

"'Cuz it's our job." At this, she shut up.

"Everyone, I just wanted to say, the leader has eloped somewhere. We have no information on his whereabouts." Tsunade interrupted.

"Still, there's a whole bunch left." Neji muttered in annoyance.

"How much do we get paid?" Chouji asked while munching on some chips.

"That remains to see how many of you are left." Tsuande spoke in a haunting voice. Chills ran down everyone's spines.

"Geez, Tsunade... ya don't have to be like that..."Shikamaru sighed.

"Sakura, you're not saying anything!" Naruto realized that everyone but Sakura and Hinata had commented on the mission, but Hinata rarely said anything, so it was okay. But Sakura _not_ saying anything was a problem.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan, how do you feel about his mission?" Tenten asked

"Pretty good. After all, one for each of us," Sakura calmly said. Everyone was amazed at how well she was handling the briefing.

"Okay, we've had enough of them, your job is to take them down. We have information on their whereabouts. They should be in the Country of Lightning's Hidden Village of Cloud in 5 days, at the rate they're going. Your job is to hunt each one down, even the medic nins. That means you, Haruno, and Hyuuga," Tsunade added, nodding at the medics.

"I expect you to be back in at least 2 weeks. The Hidden Village of Cloud is aware of the danger, and they know that evacuation is needed as soon as possible. The guards there will fight alongside you if needed. Please show them this letter, it's proof that you are part of our county. I've dispatched hunter nins to watch over you, this _is _an extremely difficult task. They will be there to back you up in an emergency. Please don't keep me waiting, I'd like to see you all again as soon as possible." She pleaded.

Everyone knew what she was saying. It was an almost zero percent chance that _everyone_ would make it back, but they were determined to fight to the death for their village.

"Yes, Tsunade," the team curtly bowed and left with their folders.

"Captain, what should we do first?" Ino asked Naruto. He'd earned much respect over the past years, and his dream to be Hokage was coming closer to him than he could ever imagine.

"Well, we need to talk this over. Since it's about 7:00, I think we should all eat breakfast or something while we map out our plan. What restaurants are open?" Naruto asked the others. He had a sly smile on his face.

"Uhm... nothing but the Ichiraku..." Chouji nervously said. Everyone else sweatdropped.

"TO THE RAMEN HOUSE!" Naruto cheered. The team sensed trouble.

* * *

"Captain, we should finish soon. It's already 7:54." Neji scowled.

"7:54! MAN! WE'RE LATE!" Naruto shrieked.

''Naruto, we wouldn't have been staying here so long if you didn't eat so much ramen..." Shikamaru was annoyed.

"OKAY! UHM, I'LL PAY FOR EVERYONE! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" Naruto paid the bill in a hurry and dashed out of the town in a flash with everyone else.

"Captain, we first pass through the Sound Country, right? Isn't that dangerous?" Tenten asked worriedly.

"Well, we're gonna head north through our border, right next to theirs, and when we hit the lakes, we go east. We can't pass through Orochimaru's lair, it's entirely too riskly. If we minimize our contact with the Sound nin, we can make it to the Hidden Cloud Village in about 4 days, if there are no delays. We travel from dawn to dusk, and then we rest. It'll take about four days, and I know it'll be hard, but if we reach Cloud by then, we can sleep and stock up there for about a day. But you guys know that's nothing close to hell," Naruto concluded. The past four years certainly helped his IQ.

Everyone continued running at top speed, occasionally stopping by small springs to rest and eat. Before they knew it, it was nightfall.

"Ahhh... this feels _so_ good..." Sakura stretched and sat by a tree. Hinata nodded wearily. "N-Naruto-kun and N-Neji-kun are finding food f-for us..." Hinata sighed, guilty that the boys, who had been running longer than them, had to now chase after wild game.

"Hinata, Sakura, we're not _that_ tired!" Naruto's voice suddenly was audible. Sakura and Hinata turned around just in time to see Neji and Naruto push their way out of the bushes, Naruto holding a fat deer, and Neji holding 4 jackrabbits by their ears.

"N-Naruto-kun! Neji-san!" Hinata welcomed them back.

"Sakura-chan, did you bring any veggies with you?" Naruto asked eagerly. She nodded.

"They're in my bag. I bought them last night."

"Great! Well, I made everyone bring paper plates and bowls, and I brought pans. Well? Who's the best cook here?" Naruto looked around. Everyone had pointed to Sakura, who was obviously good enough to be a chef.

"Well, Hinata-san, do you think you could help Sakura-san? I don't think she can do everything by herself. Naruto and I'll skin these, and you can help Sakura prepare. I know you're not much of a cook, but maybe you could slice the vegetables or something. Tenten and Ino are wiped out," Neji said in more of a commanding tone. Hinata shyly nodded.

"Thanks, Neji, Hinata, Naruto," Sakura sighed out of relief.

"Sakura-chan, can you make some of your famous stew? I mean, you won't be making it with beef, but at least you have something to work with!" Naruto pleaded. Sakura felt guilty that Naruto and Neji had taken about an hour just to find this stuff, so she nodded. Everyone cheered, Sakura _was_ the best cook on the team.

Neji and Naruto skinned the deer and the rabbits, and removed the flesh from the bones, while Hinata fetched the water with Shikamaru, and Sakura and Chouji started a fire. When Hinata came back, they placed the giant saucepan above the fire, waiting for it to boil. Sakura got herself busy by slicing the meat into cubes, and Hinata washed, peeled, and cut the vegetables. Sakura placed the meat into the water, which _still _wasn't boiling yet, and told Hinata that she should rest, and that Sakura could do the rest. When the meat and water was boiling, she stuck in the vegetables and boiled them until they were cooked, but still crunchy. At last, she seasoned the mixture, and added some more ingredients. Just for fun, she decided to get a small saucepan from Naruto's pack and whacked a metal spoon across the pan's bottom. The card game was abruptly ened as everyone scrambled to get their bowls and spoons, each trying to get the first taste of her delicious cooking.

"Whoa, everyone, slow down, it's just food..." Sakura was a _bit _scared.

"_You _made it though, Sakura!" Ino pointed out.

Before things could get more out of hand, Sakura hurriedly served everyone, and herself last. The team sat down in a circle, said a prayer of thanks, and dug in. Their eyes widened at the taste. It was so good! The meat was tender, the were vegetables crisp, and the stew was seasoned just right. They ate, and ate, and ate.

"Wow... I didn't realize I was that hungry!" Ino loudly said.

"That was AMAZING, Sakura-chan!" Naruto punched his fist in the air.

"Thanks, Sakura, I feel a lot better now." Tenten smiled.

Everyone said their thanks to Sakura, and even forced her to sit down and rest while they did the dishes.

Eventually, it was time to sleep. They all rolled out their sleeping bags and removed their ANBU masks. At 9:00, everyone was asleep, except for Sakura, who gazed out into the sky.

_Sasuke... What are you doing right now? I'm almost over you, so it's okay to come back. Sasuke... will you ever come? _were her last thoughts before drifting to sleep, dreaming of old Team Seven.

* * *

**MEANWHILE...**

A dark figure, hidden by the shadows, ran through the woods, intent on chasing his target. When he finally had his target cornered, he stepped up, and asked the man, "What are you doing in my country?" The man wouldn't answer.

"I _said_, young man, _what are you doing in my country?_" The first man asked menacingly, appearing suddenly behind his target, holding a kunai at his target's throat.

"Answer me, _or I'll kill you._" He whispered into his ear.

The target finally answered, " What makes you think you can kill me?"

" 'Cause I ca--" he was suddenly pinned to the floor by his target. His eyes widened. He didn't even see his movements.

"Wh-Who are you? My boss didn't tell me you'd be this good..." the first man sputtered. He gasped when the moonlight shone on half the target's face. "Y-You're..."

"Yeah, this is what you get for messing with me." With that, the target slit the man's throat. Standing up, his face was in full view of the light.

"That's what you get... for messing with Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

Yay! Sasuke FINALLY showed up, lol. The story's gonna get more complicated, hang on tight! If I get lots of reviews, I'll make the next chappie as long as this one! 


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much everyone! I've been getting _mostly_ positive reviews... which is good! Please bear with my mistakes! I'm only an 8th grader this coming year! My intelligence level isn't gonna be the same as a college student's! Thanks to my reviewers!

**Little Krissi**: Well, Sakura misses the old times. Please don't forget that she's not completely over him yet. Yeah, I guess it is a bit forced, but I think it'll be okay. Anyways, thanks for reading!

**Sexy.Black.Neko**: Thanks! Please keep reading!

**Crazy Gal42**: Well, here's the chappie you wanted, please enjoy!

**sylvia**: Thanks, I like those letters. D Please continue reading!

**Prinx**: Well, I plan on making them meet in maybe a chappie or two It'll be soon though, but don't expect them to hit it off! Thanks for reading!

**TomKitty13**: Thank you so much! This story looked like a failiure at first, but now I guess it's more popular than I expected. Thanks for reading, please enjoy!

**luv hate it**: Thanks! I think it is getting more interesting, Sasuke has appeared! haha. Anyways, he's not really a killer, but he had to kill him for reasons unknown yet. Thanks for reading, please enjoy!

**Swimtwins03**: Thanks, please don't worry, you don't have to review every chappie, because you're always reviewing anyways! Thanks for reviewing! Please enjoy!

**Sasuke's Wife Sakura Uchiha**: CHA! lol, Sasuke's back! Thanks for reviewing, please keep reading if you can!

**jadedsincerity**: DUDE! I miss you guys so much. I hear you got your hamster; Ninja, right? Well, Sasuke's here! Everyone's commenting on him, it's really cool. Thanks for reviewing, I'll call you later!

**sasuke fan**: Thanks for reading! Here's the chappie you wanted. Thanks for reviewing, please keep reading!

**Babybugichoo95**: Thanks! I really appreciate how you like my story, and it's nice to have someone reading that doesn't critisize my writing! D Thanks so much, here's a new, LOOOONG chappie. I love Sakura, but since she's so weak, she will forever kick ASS in my stories. Please keep reading!

**SuChAbAKa**: Really? Some people have been saying that the story's boring now. Anyways, thanks for reviewing! Please continue reading! D

**ATTENTION! I HAVE DECIDED THAT FOR EVERY REVIEW I GET, I'LL WRITE150 EXTRA WORDS. IT'S JUST THAT I DON'T REALLY WANT TO WRITE FOR PEOPLE THAT CAN'T EVEN PRESS THE REVIEW BUTTON AND WRITE SOMETHING LIKE ' YEAH, KEEP GOING'. I LOVE ALL OF YOU THAT REVIEW, PLEASE UNDERSTAND. DON'T FREAK OUT, EVERY CHAPPIE WILL HAVE A **MINIMUM** OF 1000 WORDS, **MAXIMUM** OF 5000. THANK YOU, PLEASE, DON'T HATE ME. 3 OH YEAH, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW, 13 REVIEWS! YAY. 1000 + 1950 2950! DAAAAAANG! THAT'S A LOT OF WORDS! WELL, I'M GOING TO KEEP WRITING. **

I've also decided to start polls. Please submit your answer, it'd help with the outcome of the story, since most will either ask if you like lemons(er...), or other pairings I'm considering. Thanks a lot! Enough of my blabbering. On with the story!

* * *

My Cherry Blossom

* * *

_This won't do. I can't go on with nin chasing me everywhere I go! I need to hide somewhere, a town, and maybe do a transformation jutsu. I think there's a town somewhere around here... Wish I had a map. DAMMIT! Where did all my senses go! The town I was in last had tons of maps. I could have just stolen one from the store._ Sasuke thought to himself, running through the woods. The moonlight was his only source of light, but it barely showed through the thick clumps of trees. 

He continued cursing himself as he ran, hoping to find some good shelter in at least two hours. For the next hour and a half Sasuke ran, until he finally hit the jackpot. Up ahead, around a mile away, he could see huge gates towering above the trees. _Perfect, _He thought, disguising himself as a gorgeous young woman behind a tree(One that Jiraiya and Kakashi would drool over), walking up to the guards.

"Excuse me, sir, please let me through. I've had a hard time traveling through the woods, and I have men after me. May I request shelter?" Sasuke tried his best not to sound TOO much like a girl, that would be scary. The guard looked Sasuke up and down.

"You don't seem dangerous. Go on in." Sasuke bowed out of thanks, and proceeded to walk through the door. He didn't notice the look on the guard's face as he walked by, and sadly, paid the consequences.

Sasuke walked through the door, only to feel something on his butt. As he turned his head around he found himself being _groped _by the guard, a _man_. Sasuke had forgotten about his transformation, and mistook the man to be gay, until he looked down and saw his chest sticking out. The guard was lucky, if he had been groping Sasuke as a man, he would be dead.

_How would a girl react?_ Sasuke racked his brain for answers. He had been around the sound four a lot, but the girl on the team acted nothing like one. Suddenly, Sakura appeared in his mind, punching Naruto for hitting on her. _I'd like to do a lot more than punch him, but it'll have to do. _

"PERVERT!" Sasuke screamed, punching the guard smack in the jaw. He finally realized why Sakura found it fun to punch someone, calling them a pervert. It was fun!

Sasuke ran past MANY shops, until he found an abandoned alleyway. He transformed back into his original form, and proceeded to look for a hotel. It was a while before he found one, but it was worth the wait. It was _very_ fancy, and had only a few rooms left, only five. Four were reserved, so he got the last one. All of them were lined up next to each other, strangely.

Sasuke showered and ate, and finally sank into the plushy, soft bed. He sighed. _I think I'll stay here a while. It's pretty relaxing. After all, I have to find out where Itachi is. I heard his groups' coming here. _He fell asleep, moonlight streaming through his window, as he dreamt about the day he would get revenge.

* * *

"Sakura-chaaaaan!" An annoying voice rang out from the other side of the camp. "Mmfph..." Sakura grunted, turning over and covering her head with her pillow. This, however, didn't distract Naruto. He grabbed the pillow and started slamming it on her head with a big smile while saying in a singsong voice," Sakura-chaaaan, it's morning! Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Everyone was up already, and they felt sorry for the blonde ANBU. Poor Naruto didn't know what was coming to him. 

"OOF!" Naruto was suddenly flying at a nearby tree, Sakura's fist up in the air, her eye twitching out of annoyance. "OW!" her target yelped as he made contact with the pine tree. Naruto sat up, rubbing his head, muttering, "Sakura-chan, that hu--" he gulped loudly, looking up, realizing that he had just pissed off Konoha's best kunoichi. She stood before him, her eyes glazed with the urge to kill. Naruto could swear he saw hell's flames burning behind her as she cracked her knuckles.

"S-S-Sakura-chan, n-no need to g-get mad, I, uh... uhm, uhm, got some r-ramen waiting for yo-you, haha..." he stuttered, trying to look happy as he made his futile attempts to persuade her into letting him come out of this with just a few bruises. No such luck. His painful cries could be heard about a mile away. Everyone on the team couldn't help but sigh at the sad sight.

By the time Sakura was done, Naruto was badly bruised, his head swelling with lumps the size of eggs, and had a black eye. Everyone had finished destroying any traces of their staying there. As the team continued running towards their destination, he leaned over to Chouji, whispering, "Think _that's_ scary? That was the _easy_ punishment." Chouji and Naruto shivered as they both thought to themselves, _If that's the _easy_ punishment, what's the _hard_ one?_

Up ahead, Sakura, Tenten, Ino, and Hinata were all talking about their love lives, since all of them knew that Sakura was okay with it now. There were times before where she would burst into tears each time they mentioned something to do with love.

" Yeah, Ino-pig, when's he gonna propose?" Sakura asked teasingly. Ino blushed a deep crimson and muttered back a quiet, "Shut up."

" Ino, we all know that as soon as you turn sixteen, you can marry. Be lucky that you don't live in the Water Country, you have to be eighteen," Tenten pointed out.

" Well, what about you? We all know you have the 'great' Hyuuga Neji as your guy. Why's _he_ not proposing?" Ino kept her sarcastic voice low. Neji and Shikamaru were ahead of them, scouting out the area to make sure that it was safe.

Tenten snorted. "That guy's too proud to ask such an average looking person like me to be his wife. I mean, have you seen the way his mom and dad look at me? In their eyes, I'm trash. Even if Neji wanted to, he'd rather obey his orders than follow his heart. I consider it an honor that he's even going out with me. I mean, if he's willing to bend the rules a little so he can see me, that's okay to him. But I don't think he's going to bend the rules as far as to marry me. His parents probably think I'm too plain." At that last comment, all the girls, even Hinata, gave her a good whack on the head.

"How can you say that!" Hinata screamed, but with her voice, it sounded like a normal tone. Everyone stared at her. It was probably the first time Hinata had ever said anything without stuttering.

"Yeah, Tenten, how can you say that!" Ino reinforced Hinata's 'scream' shortly after recovering from Hinata's outburst.

"Tenten, we ALL know you're absolutely _gorgeous._" Sakura commented. At this, Sakura was surprised to find that everyone was glaring at her instead of Tenten.

"Sakura, you're one to talk. Look at you! You're _amazing_. The greatest legs, perfect curves, sexy eyes, the silky hair, _everything_. Look at your face! Not even ONE pimple. You're probably the sexiest, strongest kunoichi of all the lands," Tenten scoffed.

"Yeah, Haruno, what _don't _you have that other girls wish for?" Ino crossed her arms, Hinata just nodded.

"A guy." Was her only answer as she continued running at her same pace. The girls stood shocked, forgetting for a moment that she was all alone.

"We shouldn't have said that..." Hinata sadly said, running after Sakura. Again, Tenten and Ino gaped at Hinata. Two whole sentences without stuttering. AMAZING.

After all of them had caught up with Sakura, they were surprised to see that she was acting as if nothing had happened.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Hinata asked worriedly. THREE WHOLE SENTENCES WITHOUT STUTTERING! **(A/N: I'm sorry, for those of you who like it when Hinata stutters, I'm tired of writing sentences in which a character has to stutter. If you want it the way it was before, tell me in a review. D)**

"Yeah, Hinata, I'm fine, I mean, we were only talking about what I didn't have. Don't worry, I'm not acting this way. I honestly feel fine with having no special person in my life. Please guys, don't do what you did last time you thought I was acting..." Sakura groaned. Last time, they tied her to a chair and told her that she wouldn't get out until she told them EXACTLY how she felt. They all ended up with bruises the next day, except for Hinata. who just got a small whack on the head.

"Yeah, don't worry. We'll believe you... _this time._ " The way Tenten was smiling, it was _not_ good.

"Anyways, Tenten, you're so pretty and sweet, I bet that he's going to propose soon!" Hinata happily reassured. Tenten decided to stop counting her stutter-less sentences.

"Maybe. But I really don't know if I want to marry him..." Tenten nervously glued her eyes to the floor, still running. Everyone gasped.

"Why not?" Sakura demanded to know.

"Well... I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready to settle down yet, I mean, I'm only sixteen. I want to enjoy my life right now, and marry at maybe... I don't know, eighteen, nineteen. And what if... what if we do 'that' and I get pregnant?" Tenten blushed madly at the thought of... er... best not to say. "I won't be able to go on missions until the kid's grown up. And who knows? While we're waiting for the child to grow up, what if I get pregnant _again_? That means no more missions, no more fun. I mean, it's hard to tell what goes on in Neji's mind, even for me. For all I know, he's some sex-crazy guy!" Everyone laughed at the thought of Neji begging on his knees for a night in bed with Tenten, as she crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently, looking the other way, simply saying, "No."

"Well, if you have lots of kids, gimme one, I won't be having any in a while!" Sakura laughed, and all the other girls laughed as well.

"Well, this is our second day, and Naruto's already driving me insane. Maybe we should ditch him in the town and leave him with his ramen." Sakura sighed.

"Maybe we should. But we can't not with Hinata, she couldn't if she tried," Tenten pointed out.

"True..." Ino muttered. Hinata was just pushing her fingers together, as usual.

"Anyways, we have about another four days to get there before we face the Akatsuki. That's plenty of time to prepare." Sakura said as they ran.

''Yeah, but what about _him_? NONE of us can stand a chance against him, besides you and Naruto," Hinata remarked.

"Well, me and Naruto will take him down together, if nessecary." Sakura simply said.

"Neji!" Tenten called. Her lover appeared out of the bushes ahead, running towards them.

"What is it?" he asked calmly.

"How much longer until we reach the city?'' she asked. Neji closed his eyes, calculating in his head.

"At the rate we're going, about one more day, if we're not delayed." He took off ahead again.

''See? He never says anything to me unless he has to." Tenten sadly told them.

"You know, Tenten, you'd be better with Rock Lee. He's not that bad, and he's gotten over Sakura. Nowadays, he looks at you MUCH more differently," Hinata said gently.

"Yeah, maybe I would. But I want to see what happens after the mission. Maybe he's only being like this for the sake of the group." Tenten sighed. "This is hard."

"Well, let's see what happens after the mission." Sakura spoke in a professional manner.

"Yeah, let's just wait." Ino yawned. They had been running nonstop for HOURS.

"Shikamaru, is it safe to make camp? We're tired." Ino whined.

"Yeah. Let's appoint hunters! Last time, it was Naruto and Neji... so this time, we'll make it Sakura and Ino." he decided.

"Sure!" Sakura replied.

Everyone else set up camp as she and Ino wandered into the woods. Soon, they were engaged in a deep conversation about the mission.

"Sakura, this is our first time taking down a group this big. And it's his brother's group... so... what if... what if we see him?" Ino nervously asked. Sakura didn't sem to have a reaction.

"Well, if I see him, I'm gonna ask him when he's coming home. I mean, it's been four years. He's a missing nin, but Tsunade understands why he left, so I think she won't punish him. Anyways, we'll have to tell him that." Sakura said.

"Well, if I see him, I'm gonna slap the shit outta him for all he put you through..." Ino muttered. Sakura smiled at her.

"Ino, we have to live life to its fullest, and we can't do that if all we do is hurt somene for hurting someone else. You have to let it go, sometimes. Otherwise, life won't seem right at all."

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, it's been about half an hour. The person that comes back with the most meat in five minutes doesn't have to cook!" Ino smirked. She wasn't bad at cooking, but nobody could beat Sakura.

Sakura grinned. "You're on, Ino-pig."

* * *

YAY! I finished! Wow, didn't think that the story would make it this far. And to think, this is my first fic, yet it's really popular! THANKS SO MUCH TO MY REVIEWERS! 

**IMPORTANT POLL!**

Well, I can't decide on NejixTen or RockxTen, so you choose!

**a)** Neji dies during battle saving Tenten, she cries, goes out with Rock Lee.

**b)** Neji dies during battle, saving Tenten, she cries, SUICIDE.

**c)** Neji was acting tough for the sake of the group, cuz he knew that if his enemies knew he loved Tenten, she would be killed, so he finally breaks down and admits that even though he was being a major jerk, he still loved her.(Awh.)

**d)** Neji lives, Tenten decides to dump him and go out with Lee.

**e)** Other idea, please tell me.

**Also, please tell me what you like more, Neji and Tenten, or Rock Lee and Tenten.

* * *

**

Thanks! I hope to update within a week.


	5. Chapter 5

HELLO! Wow. I got TONS of reviews on the last chappie! Around 27! Too bad, I told you guys that the max number of words I'd write in a chapter would be 5000! I might let it slide if I get 30...;DThanks so much! Please continue reviewing!

* * *

**THANKS TO MY REVIEWERS!**

**SasuSaku453**: Thanks for the vote!

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**Crazy Gal42**: Thanks for your vote!

**BloodRuby**: Thanks for your idea! I planned on doing the same thing, but I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do it. lol I think I'm going to use it, and then use my idea near the end. If I do use your idea, then I'll be sure to give you props. 3 Please keep reading if you can!

**SuChAbAKa**: Thank you! I love your reviews, they're so loooong. 3 Please keep reading if ya can!

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**Silver Element & CookieCutter**: Thanks! Haha, I'll try not to make him go. Besides, everyone wanted him to live, and I have to listen to what my readers would like to hear. Well, Sakura and Sasuke will meet soon! BELIEVE IT: Thanks for your review and vote!

**Midoriko0124**: Awh. I'm so happy! You've been reviewing from the beginning. I love your idea, I'll probably use it. 3 Please keep readin, if possible!

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**Hiroshi Yakuza Ketchum**: Thanks a lot! Well, here's your chappie:

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**2 Sided Coin**: Thanks for your vote and review!

* * *

**IMPORTANT! **

**GUESS WHAT PEOPLE! I'M A BETA! A 13 YEAR OLD BETA! YAAAAAY! I DIDN'T THINK PEOPLE WOULD WANT BETAS THAT WERE SO YOUNG! **

**Anyways, does anybody know whose beta I am: I'll put you in the story if you guess right!**

**I GOT MY FIRST FLAME! HURRAAAAAY!

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**

My Cherry Blossom

* * *

"Naruto, we've been running for three hours straight. Can't we have a break?" Ino whined. It was true. They had all woken up at six in the morning, and had been running since then. Everyone knew that asking Neji would be a waste, he'd keep running anyways. But Naruto was actually considerate.

"Sure Ino, we'll rest here, since Hinata doesn't look so great." Naruto called everyone back and told them to look for water springs. They all went in pairs.

"Hinata, you're so lucky to have Naruto, he takes care of you so well!" Sakura grinned. Hinata just blushed.

"Sakura-chan, you should find a guy that'll take care of you like Naruto does for me. Maybe you can find one in the Village of Cloud," she teased.

"Hinata-chan!" Sakura blushed a deep crimson before finding a beautiful water spring. They sat by the clear water, washing their faces and filling their canteens. It was extremely quiet, until Sakura spoke.

"Hey, Hinata-chan," Sakura abruptly said, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I was thinking... maybe I _should_ find some guy in Cloud. I mean, there's gotta be tons of guys there that I can be compatible with. Also, if I _do _find someone, then I'll already have a great impression on him for saving his village. It all works out. I can't be alone my entire life. Someone has to take care of me sometimes, right?" she smiled at the shocked Hyuuga.

"S-Sakura-chan, I was only joking. But... But I'm glad you feel that way!" she hugged her friend tightly for a brief moment and let her go.

Sakura laughed. "Well, if your canteen's filled, we can go back to the starting area." Hinata nodded and got up, walking through the forest with Sakura.

By the time the two had gone back, they were the last ones. Naruto ran towards them, enveloping Hinata in a tight hug.

"You bakas! I was so worried about you guys! Don't take so long next time... 'kay?" Naruto told each of them. Sakura was touched, seeing the looks of relief on everyone's faces as they came through the trees.

She put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, turning him around to face her. "Naruto, I'm sorry. I was holding Hinata-chan up."

"Sakura-chan, it's not your fault. You guys just probably lost track of time. Besides, those springs were hard to find. Alright, it's only ten in the morning, and we've had a break for an HOUR. We have to travel at top speed if we're gonna make it to Cloud anytime soon. I think... we'll be there either today, if we run as fast as we can, or we can get there tomorrow at normal pace. Whaddya wanna do?" he asked the team. Everyone obviously wanted to get there today.

"Okay guys, but if we keep taking breaks, we won't get there. Let's go!" he shouted as the team ran with all their strength towards the faraway village.

* * *

It had been seven hours since they had taken a break, and they were _tired_, even though their pace didn't show it. Naruto finally called to everyone, "TAKE A GOOD BREAK! HALF AN HOUR!"

Everyone sighed and panted as they collapsed onto the ground. Naruto crawled over and collapsed next to Hinata. The next half hour was _heaven_, even thoough all they were doing was laying down and playing cards. Then the dreaded moment came: Naruto finally called out to the team, "Everyone, let's go!"

* * *

By the time they reached Cloud, it was 11 o' clock at night. The guard let them in as soon as they presented to him the letter Tsunade had given them.

Sakura yawned, stretching out her arms as the young ANBU team made their way sluggishly toward the hotel. As soon as they entered, everyone was in awe of the lobby. The floors were tan/golden hardwood, and was decorated with gorgeous red rugs with gold trimmings. Glass chandeliers accented with glistening rubies hung from the gold ceiling. The lobby desks and counters were of fine oak, complicated designs etched all over the edges. The sofas and chairs were made of mahogany, silk cushions covering the hardened surfaces. It was _gorgeous. _

"Wow... Tsunade made sure that we'd get the best services, huh?" Ino murmured, her jaw on the floor. Even Chouji stopped eating his chips for a while(Although he resumed as soon as he was done gawking).

"Well, we might as well get checked in. Tsunade-obaa-chan reserved four rooms for us." Naruto grinned. "They're supposed to be the best of the best."

Sakura and Shikamaru checked everyone in as the rest of the ANBU lounged around in the lobby. The clerk(a very handsome one at that) gave them their room keys, saying "Please enjoy your stay." "Thank you," Hinata shyly told the clerk. He smiled at Sakura and Hinata(quite suggestively), which made Hinata blush madly. Naruto's face was an even deeper shade of red, only it was from anger. He quickly dragged Hinata to the elevator, and the rest of the team followed suit.

"Hinata-chaaaaaaan!" Naruto whined, pulling his girlfriend close to his chest. She blushed(again) as Naruto fingered her long violet hair(it had grown a lot during these years-around the middle of her back). "Y-yeah, Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered.(Tenten, looks like ya gotta start the stuttering counter again... )

"Don't ever go near that clerk again..." he mumbled. Hinata was confused.

"Why, Naruto-kun?" she asked. Naruto's face was even redder, but from a blush.

"Cuz _he_ made you _blush_! And that alone made me wanna _castrate_ him... but the way he looked at you made me wanna _castrate_ and_then_ kill him. (If ya don't know what castration is, don't lookit up on the internet. -- baaaad memories...i'll stick it in the next chappie for the people that don't know.)" Naruto's grip on Hinata grew even tighter. The poor girl was blushing so hard that you'd think she was having a fever of 300 degrees.

A tap on the shoulder sent the couple back into reality. "Naruto, if your'e done explaining to Hinata the gruesome ways you were gonna kill poor Maharu, you might as well come out of the elevator." Sakura sighed.

Naruto turned his gaze to the elevator screen. They were on the fourth floor already. He realized that Neji, Tenten, Chouji, Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura had been waiting for them for a looong time. Hinata and Naruto reluctantly tore apart from the other's arms, and walked out the elevator.

Naruto abrupty stopped. His eyes narrowed as he asked Sakura," How the hell do you know that teme's name...?" Sakura sighed and turned around to face him. "You really _are_ an idiot, aren't you, Naruto?" she asked with a smile. "Name tags, kiddo. Think about it,''Sakura playfully punched him. Naruto laughed.

"Well, if he gave you his number or any other suggestive ideas, then you can be sure that his head will be gone in a matter of seconds." Sakura and Hinata giggled at his remark. Up ahead, Tenten and Neji walked together.

"Errr... Neji, left or right?" Tenten asked as soon as they came to a fork in the halls.

"Left." was his extremely short reply. Tenten walked back to Sakura, sulking. She didn't realize that her boyfriend's eyes followed her, seemingly longing for her presence.

"See, Sakura-chan? He never says anything anymore...especially to me," Tenten sighed. Sakura patted her friend's back.

"Ten-chan, don't worry about it. If anything goes wrong, you can either go out with Lee-san, or you can go guy hunting in Cloud with me. " Sakura and Tenten chuckled at this remark.

"Seriously, Sakura-chan, are you really gonna look for a guy in Cloud? Hinata told me while you and Shikamaru were checking us in. O-Oh, don't worry, she didn't tell Ino, or else, you'd have heaps of guys flying at you..." Tenten quickly replied as soon as she saw Sakura glance murderously at Ino's back.

"Oh, okay..." Sakura sighed out of relief. Knowing Ino, she'd probably get every guy in Cloud that was single to meet Sakura. It happened the last time she thought Sakura was getting lonely. Ino got a nice beating after getting Sakura to meet more than eighty men.

"Here we are! Room numbers 247, 278, 249, and 250. Errr... let's see who's gonna be with who. Girls, choose who you're gonna go with!" Naruto grinned. Sakura chose Hinata, and Tenten and Ino paired up. "Alright. Sakura, you and Hinata get 247, Ino and Tenten get 248. Me and Shikamaru are getting 249, and Neji and Chouji are getting 250. Everyone, we're meeting in the lobby at 11:00 A.M sharp! I want you all in ANBU uniform, just for show!" He grinned as he started handing all of them their keys as they filed into their rooms. Sakura heard Naruto and Chouji fighting in the hallway.

"The key doesn't go in that way! It goes in this way!" Naruto screeched.

"NO, YOU DUMB SHIT! THIS WAY!" Shikamaru argued. Everyone sweatdropped. The famous genius of Konoha(other than Sasuke, Sakura, and Itachi) couldn't even open the door! How sad...

"Hinata, I love Naruto as a bro, but seriously, I sometimes wonder what you see in him..." Sakura sighed.

Hinata sadly nodded. "Sometimes, Neji-nii-san and I have to wonder about that too..."

"Well, Akatsuki will come on Friday, and today is... Wednesday? Actually, it's 12:02 A.M., so it's really Thursday." The girls continued to talk about the mission as Naruto and Chouji finally realized that the key went in right-side up. Think that's scary? Naruto was the one that solved it.

* * *

Sasuke had only been sleeping for an hour when some retards down the hall couldn't open the door. Of course, if Naruto and Chouji had sounded the same as when they were 12, Sasuke would have recognized it. But it had been four years since he had left. He had almost forgotten how everyone's voices sounded like. _It's only natural... it's been a long time. At least I remember their faces_, he thought to himself. In his mind, images of the people who had once been his 'family' flashed through.

First, a blonde boy in orange popped up, pointing at him, yelling "TEME!". _Naruto..._he laughed a bit to himself. _Hope you're still that dobe. _Then a man with a strange silver hairdo, his face covered in a black mask, and in his hand... a book that Sasuke wished he could burn. _Kakashi-sensei..._He sweatdropped in his bed. Sasuke's memories continued to flood his mind as he abrutly stopped on a pink-haired kunoichi with large, jaded eyes. _Sakura..._ he felt a pang of guilt. She _had_ tried her best to keep him from going, admitting that she loved him with all her heart, saying that she'd even go with him on his quest for revenge. But he knocked her out, leaving her on a cold stone bench with one word, "Arigatou." The guilt faded away as his lips turned up into a smirk. _She probably still has undying love for me. I bet that if I came back, she'd be all over me just like before. _

Oh, how wrong Sasuke was.

* * *

Sakura was extremely impressed with the room. It had thick royal blue carpet, sky blue walls, white furniture, and two soft azure(another shade of blue)queen beds. The bathroom was white, thesteel on the sinks and tubs tinted a gorgeous shade of gold. White, fluffy towels dangled from the shiny silver shower rack. It was a very nice room, perhaps the best that Sakura had ever been in, besides Sasuke's mansion. Sakura had the orders of cleaning it after Sasuke had left, and she couldn't get home in time that night, so she stayed in the mansion(Of course, this was when she still liked him, so she found his room and slept in it).

Sakura was worried, however. Naruto wasn't acting like his normal self, and Hinata's eyes were only full of despair these days. Sakura planned to know what was going on, so when she changed into her white pajamas(No, pervs, not the really slutty kind of PJ's, normal ones, shirt and REAAALLY long bottoms. I love PJ's that have really long pants, cuz they bunch up at your ankes, like those knee-high loose socks that schoolgirls always wear. Enough of my babbling.), she hid a small recorder in her shirt pocket, so that as soon as Hinata confessed what had been going on, Sakura would be able to listen to it again if she missed any parts.

"So, Hinata. Tell me what you and Naruto have planned," she calmly said, turning on the recorder and laying down on one of the plushy beds at the same time. Hinata laid in the other.

"Well, Naruto-kun said that he's gonna propose to me after he has enough spare money for an engagement ring... but I feel so bad. I mean, he's living by himself, and now, he's working even harder than before, just so that he can buy me a nice ring. Naruto-kun already has enough bills, for his apartment, electricity, water, weapons, and now, he has to work even harder, to make me happy. I wish Naruto-kun wasn't so hard on himself. I told him that I'd wait, because I love him, and that the ring doesn't matter. I'd stay with him even if the ring was from the 25 cent machine. I just want him to be his normal self! He's always so tired from working, it breaks my heart to watch him work so hard, just for me!" Hinata grabbed and dug her head a plushy pillow, hugging it tightly. Sakura heard muffled sobs coming from the poor girl.

_She must really love Naruto... after all he's doing, the idiot's working even harder so that she can have something nice...Good thing I'm recording this all... Cuz Naruto's gonna have a late-night visit,_ Sakura thought. She got up and sat down next to Hinata, hugging the crying heiress. Hinata threw the pillow onto the floor, crying into Sakura's shoulder. All Sakura could do was hold onto Hinata, stroking her long hair and say comforting words. Hinata's father had disowned her long ago, so her mother was not able to do this sort of thing for her. While Hinata wasn't looking, she turned off the mini recorder.

Hinata's sobs gradually decreased, until she fell into a deep slumber. Sighing, Sakura tucked her roommate under the covers and then silently walked out the door. She knocked on Naruto's room, saying, " It's me." He opened the door and let his teammate inside.

"Sakura, what's wrong? Where's Hinata-chan?" he asked sleepily. Sakura shifted her gaze on Shikamaru, who was busy staring out the window.

"Shikamaru," Sakura called. The brown-haired boy turned around to look at her.

"I'm gonna borrow Naruto-kun for a while," she said, grabbing the blonde's hand, leading him out the door, into the hallway.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong? And why are you calling me Naruto-kun now?" He questioned. She didn't answer, using her key to open the door.

"Sakura-chan," he whined, obviously confused. She led him into the room, pulling him next to the bed, by Hinata's side.

Naruto's face softened as he watched his girlfriend sleep. She was so beautiful, her hair fanned out on the pillow, eyes gently closed, lips partially open. He softly caressed her cheek, shocked to find that it was sticky with tears.

"S-Sakura-chan, was she crying?" he was barely audible. Sakura couldn't blame him. Hinata almost never cried now, it had been more than a year and a half since she had last cried over the death of her grandfather.

"Sakura-chan," he said, this time more firmly.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun. She was crying..." Sakura trailed off.

"Over who?" Naruto was pissed. He rolled up the sleeves of his pajamas, ready to lunge at whoever had made his Hinata-chan cry.

"...Over...you."

The blonde froze. "W-What?" he stuttered. "I didn't cheat on her! Does she really think I did? Cuz if it looked like me, it was probably some other blonde kid in the village! Oh, Sakura-chan, p-please don't tell me that... that she's gonna leave me! Hinat-" Naruto was cut off by Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, she's not gonna break up with you. She loves you too much to do that. It's just..." she trailed off again, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, I recorded what she said... here." Sakura dug into her bag and handed him a mini cassette player, the tape, and some headphones. He inserted the tiny tape and stuck the headphones on. Every minute Naruto listened to the conversation made his face go from serious, to sad, to verge of tears. Sakura could tell it was painful for him to watch, so she turned off the player. Naruto took the headphones off.

"Naruto, do you understand what she wants now?" Sakura asked slowly. He nodded his head.

"If you want, I'll go stay in your room. Ino's gonna understand, and she knows I'm not like that. Shikamaru won't care either. And when she wakes up, I want YOU to be the first person she sees. Okay?" Sakura smiled at Naruto's shocked face.

"S-Sakura-chan, you're willing to let me stay here?" He asked numbly. She nodded. Naruto rushed over and enveloped her in a tight, friendly hug.

"Thank you so much, Sakura-chan! And... why do you call me Naruto-kun now?" he asked, letting her go.

"It's cause you're like my brother, and I figured I should act like you are now. Right?" Sakura gathered her things and left for Naruto's room. All Naruto could do was stare at her fortheanswer she gave him. _That's right... Sakura-chan wasn't alwyas so ill-tempered, was she? She's so considerate... she needs to be happy too..._ Naruto thought, gently pushing Hinata over a little more so he could snuggle in. He held her by the waist, digging his nose into her long hair, breathing in her scent. _I'll take care of you, Hinata-chan... I promise... I won't make you cry tears of sadness anymore... just... tears... of joy..._Naruto trailed off as the two lovers both gave into their body's desire of sleep.

* * *

Sakura knocked on the door. "Shikamaru?" He lazily opened the door, **not** surprised to see her stuff in her arms.

"Do you mind? Naruto's gonna be with Hinata tonight," she explained, even though the genius figured that out himself. "Sure."

Sakura walked in, inspecting the room. It was the same style as Sakura and Hinata's room, only instead of blue, their main theme was green. "Sakura," Shikamaru called. She turned around, and after seeing that he was asking her to come sit by him(his laptop was on).

"Yeah?" she asked. He pointed to the screen.

"These are the eight members that are supposed to be coming. Sasori's already dead, so there are 10 left. Itachi's not supposed come. That cuts it to nine. Orochimaru left Akatsuki, eight. Just choose one to fight. Everyone else will choose later. Naruto already chose Deidara. I want Tobi. Neji already called Kisame. So all that're left are Kakuzu, Hidan, Zetsu, the leader, and a female**(She just appeared in the Japanese manga, but you don't see her face. I don't know her name, it hasn't been written in the manga yet, along with the leader's name. I have to make them up, please forgive me!)**. We don't exactly know her name, though. We don't even know what village she came from. But she's still coming. So, who's it gonna be?" he asked lazily, stretching.

"I'll take on the leader." Shikamaru froze. He blinked once. Twice. Three times.

"Who did you say, again?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

"The leader." She spoke firmly.

"Sakura, you're our best kunoichi, but... are you really sure?" Shikamaru was worried. Sakura could easily take down any other Akatsuki member, but... the leader would be quite difficult. Even for her.

"_Shikamaruuuu_," Sakura crossed her arms and began tapping her foot impatiently. He sighed. No changing her mind when she was like this.

"Okay, okay. Whatever." Shikamaru sighed.

"Alright, it's 1:54 A.M, and I'm getting some sleep..." Sakura trailed off, stretching and yawning at the same time. Shikamaru just nodded, going back to his laptop, researching the Akatsuki some more.

Sakura brushed her teeth and splashed some cold water on her face. Not even bothering to wipe away the water, she lifted her head and saw herself in the mirror. _I look perfect... I act it... I even pretend that there's nothing wrong... but... _Images of Team 7 flashed through her mind as she flounced onto the bed. _I just miss the three of us together... even after all these years... I still have Naruto with me... but... Sasuke..._

A single question lingered in her mind as she drifted into a deep sleep. _Do I... still... love...you...?

* * *

_

Large, white eyes opened to see sunlight streaming through the big window. Hinata smiled to herself. _What a beautiful day..._ she thought snuggling up to her pillow. _So warm... it smells like Naruto-kun too..._ Her thoughts were broken as something next to her stirred. Startled, Hinata jumped, clutching the nearest weapon, which was sadly, a pillow. Not even looking at the person, she began whacking it with all her might.

"**What** whack **are **whack **you** whack **doing **whack **in** whack **our** whack** room** whackwhackwhack (LMAO)!" Hinata screeched(yes, i mean SCREECHED) between assaults on the person next to her.

"**H** OW **I** OW **N** OW **A** OW** T** OW **A** OW **C** OW **H** OW **A** OW **N** OW!" Naruto wailed. She stopped her attack, the pillow an inch away from Naruto's face. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"N-Naruto-kun? But... how...?" Hinata glanced over at Sakura's bed, and found that it was empty, pretty much untouched.

"Where is Saku-chan?" she looked around wildly for any sign of her pink haired friend. She was nowhere to be seen.( NO DUR!) Naruto began chuckling.

"Sakura-chan is... she wanted me to stay with you last night. In fact, she even said that she'd stay with Shikamaru if it meant the two of us patching up," Naruto explained. Hinata's face went pale as soon as she registered what he just said. _Patching... up?_ she worriedly thought.

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto suddenly said, his tone serious.

"Y-Yes Naruto-kun?" Hinata was worried by the sudden change of voice. Her fingers began to fidget, a habit that she didn't break during these years.

"Why didn't you tell me everything? I knew I was worrying you, but... I didn't think it'd be to the point where you would cry. Hinata-chan, you can tell me anything, but why... didn't you?" he quietly asked.

"I...I didn't want you to hate me..." Naruto's eyes were as round as saucers.

"Hinata-chan! I could _never ever ever EVER _hate you! You should know that!" Naruto pulled his girlfriend into a tight embrace, digging his nose into her long violet hair. "I... I know that your... parents... they don't ever like it when you speak your mind..." Naruto whispered. "But... you... you don't have to be... afraid to tell me _anything_... okay?" Hinata was crying all over again. _Naruto-kun... thank you... _she silently thought, hot, salty tears running down her soft, pale cheeks. Naruto felt something wet on his shoulder and pulled back, shocked to find Hinata crying once again. But he smiled. They were tears of joy.

"From now on, no more secrets, okay?" Naruto asked Hinata, the love and care he held for her visible in his eyes. Hinata nodded her head vigorously as he pulled her into a hug, both wishing that the moment would go on for eternity, but they knew that they had a meeting to get to in 30 minutes, so they reluctantly pulled apart and got ready.

* * *

"Sakura-san." Sakura felt her voice being called.

"Mmmpfh," she mumbled, covering her head with the plushy pillow. Shikamaru sighed. The prettiest girl in Konoha was a bed potato**(That's what my little bro calls me...)**. Who would have guessed?

"SAKURA-SAN," he tried again, his voice firm.

"MMMMMPPPPPPPFFFFFFH!" Sakura groaned. She proceeded to cover her head with the thick blanket.

_That's IT!_ Shikamaru was _very_ annoyed now. He grabbed her pillow and bonked her on the head with his fist, hard.

"OW!" she cried, sitting up, instinctively grabbing her head. Glaring at Shikamaru, Sakura got up from the bed.

"I had just finished finding a comfortable place..." she mumbled. Shikamaru sighed. _How troublesome. _She then realised that Shikamaru was in full ANBU uniform_. Why...?_ Sakura wracked all her thoughts from last night until she finally remembered.

_Flashback_

_"Here we are! Room numbers 247, 278, 249, and 250. Errr... let's see who's gonna be with who. Girls, choose who you're gonna go with!" Naruto grinned. Sakura chose Hinata, and Tenten and Ino paired up. "Alright. Sakura, you and Hinata get 247, Ino and Tenten get 248. Me and Shikamaru are getting 249, and Neji and Chouji are getting 250. Everyone, we're meeting in the lobby at 11:00 A.M sharp! I want you all in ANBU uniform, just for show!" He grinned as he started handing all of them their keys as they filed into their rooms. _

_End of Flashback_

Sakura glanced at the digital clock that hung on the wall. It was 10:46 A.M. She gasped. "SHIT! We're supposed to meet Naruto down at the lobby at 11! Shikamaru, go downstairs! I don't want you to be late! GO!" Sakura continued to mumble a string of curses as she moved about the room, trying to finish getting ready as fast as she could. Shikamaru shrugged. Sakura would make it, so he might as well go.

As soon as Shikamaru left, Sakura ran into the bathroom to take a quick shower and brush her teeth, comb her long hair. She put on the uniform, armguards, katana, shuriken pouch, mask, and medical pouch. She made sure that the kunai holster had its respective weapons in it. By the time she was done, it was 10:58.

Sakura ran out the door, grabbing the room key on the way, along with some money for the things she'd buy to take home... if she did. She ran past room 248, and then 247. Sakura was just about to go down the elevator when she realized that her shoes weren't on. _SHIIIIIIT!_ she mentally cursed, running back as fast as she could. She turned left into the hall which was marked 246-250 when she ran into someone. Sakura almost fell back, but the person grabbed her wrist and pulled her up before she could fall. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mea-" her words were cut short when her gaze shifted higher.

"Sasuke."

* * *

**OMFG YOU GUYS MUST HATE ME! Sorry, this is my first attempt at a cliffy. I hoped you liked it so far! **

**Okay, the whole Neji/Tenten/Rock Lee poll is still going, please cast your final votes! CUZ THE FIGHT WILL COME IN EITHER ONE OR TWO CHAPPIES! I'm so sory it took so long, it's summer vacation, and I've been going to LOTS of places! I'm even typing as fast as I can just so I can upload this for you guys before I go to Vegas! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! **

**Also, I'd like some feedback on this chappie. I think it's weird. lol. well, I'd like to ask you guys what your favorite part was! I loved the Hinata/Naruto part, especially the pillow smacking! Anyone else like the pillow part? XD **

**IF THERE ARE ANY SPELLING ERRORS, I'M SORRY! TELL ME, DO I NEED A BETA? CUZ I'M MY OWN BETA! XD I'LL GET ONE IF I NEED IT THO! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Heeeey! I'm back! I didn't get as many reviews as last time, but I still loved them!hugs everyone Thanks so much! I know you all LOVED that cliffy, eh? evil smirk Well, here's the next chapter of My Cherry Blossom! Enjoy!**

Thanks to my reviewers!

**ArtYume**: Thanks so much for your offer! I'd be so happy to have you as beta! lol. I'll send you the next chappie soon. Everyone hated my cliffie. XD Thanks for reading and reviewing!

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**Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar**: Thanks... in my opinion, when I read it all over again, it's not all that funny... or it could be me. XD HELL YEAH, SASUKE'S BACK! WHOOO! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Midoriko0124**: Thank you for your vote! I loved your idea, I was planning on doing something like that. Besides, I love your ramblings! Thanks so much! I'm always looking forward to your AWESOME reviews!

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**Jaded sincerity**: lol. I liked that part too! I swear, Hinata better not have anymore guys get near her. lol Well, here's the result of the cliffie! ENJOY!

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**Crimson Zephyr**: To answer your question, yes, they will be in the fic, but they won't have roles that are important as Team 7's and a select few. That might change later on though! lol. Yeah, I don't like it when people die, but... hey, angst is a part of life too. XD Thank you so much for the review!

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**pinkrazor**: YUUUUP! THIS IS HOW IT FEELS! TTTT I like mongooses. lol. But I'm not an evil mongoose: I'm an EBILSOCKEATER! and yes, I do mean ebil. That's my AIM. XD Thanks so much for the awesome review!

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**drenchedinblood**: Thanks so much for your vote and review! And due to popular demand, nobody will die... or at least, I don't think so. XD Thanks for the review and vote!

**MistressBlossom**: Here's your chappie! Thanks for the review! Please continue reading if you may!

**I GOT 100 REVIEWS! YAY! **

My Cherry Blossom

_Last time..._

_Sakura ran out the door, grabbing the room key on the way, along with some money for the things she'd buy to take home... if she did. She ran past room 248, and then 247. Sakura was just about to go down the elevator when she realized that her shoes weren't on. SHIIIIIIT! she mentally cursed, running back as fast as she could. She turned left into the hall which was marked 246-250 when she ran into someone. Sakura almost fell back, but the person grabbed her wrist and pulled her up before she could fall. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mea-" her words were cut short when her gaze shifted higher._

_"Sasuke."_

Sasuke was annoyed. This girl seemed to know him. Of course, he couldn't see her face, her ANBU mask was on. She appeared to have golden hair, but he wasn't exactly sure, the hallway had dim lighting. And she wasn't too tall either, the top of her head only his chin. He was impressed, though. Somebody that had known him had become part of ANBU.

_It could be Ino..._ Sasuke mentally shook his head. _Ino always sounded like a hyena. Argh... This is really annoying me. I don't know anyone else that has blonde hair besides that dobe! And this isn't his Sexy no Jutsu... _

"Just who the hell are you?" he asked, clearly annoyed. Sakura sighed. _Some things may never change..._ she thought.

"It doesn't matter who I am. The thing is, _Uchiha_, that Tsunade-sama has no grudge against you and would like you to return, without any punishments to the place you once called home," Sakura could feel the hurt well up deep within her for everything he had put Naruto and herself through. Sure, last night, like many other nights in the years after he had left, she had asked herself if she had loved him. And every night she asked herself, she would not be able to come up with an answer. And it was that night that she finally decided that she didn't love him. She was his friend, a friend only.

It was then that she had realized. Realized that he'd never give her a second glance. Sakura didn't want a fight to happen between them, so she ran past Sasuke, hoping that she could get her shoes and get downstairs in time.

But the Uchiha wasn't done yet. Sakura took one step before he grabbed her wrists and trapped her. Her wrists were bound by one of Sasuke's hands above her head, and his other hand was removing the mask.

_Shit! _Sakura cursed as she saw her neko mask float onto the floor. Her eyes narrowed as soon as they were fixed on Sasuke. His eyes widened. Sasuke would know those eyes anywhere. The ones that had taken care of him, soothed his pain...

**Loved **him.

"Sakura..." he whispered. His grip on her loosened, and Sakura used this excellent oppurtunity to yank her wrist away from his hand, rubbing it with her other hand. Sasuke took _this_ oppurtunity to study her sudden growth.

_She turned out pretty well... _Sasuke commented, his eyes starting from her shapely legs, then extremely curvy hips, and her chest, ending at her jaded eyes. Even Sasuke couldn't deny it. Sakura Haruno had blossomed into a gorgeous flower.

_Hn... I'm surprised she hasn't pounced on me yet. _Sasuke inwardly smirked as he recalled the old days, when Sakura would give anything just to be with him, just to stand by his side, beg him for a single date.

"Sasuke." Her cold voice brought him back to reality. From the look he gave her, she could tell that he was silently asking her ,"What?"

"Quit staring." Sakura didn't mean to sound so cold, but... it just came out. Sasuke's shock was visible for a mere second as he regained his composure.

"Hn," he scoffed, closing his eyes, crossing his arms and turning to face the other way. Sakura rolled her eyes. Things really hadn't changed. She sighed, turning around to go get her shoes. She was already three minutes late, and Naruto couldn't take back what he had said. 11:00 AM sharp. If she hurried now, she might be able to catch up to them, and go buy weapons and herbs at the store.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice called her from the end of the hallway. She froze. _Naruto-kun! _

The said blonde came running up, saying," Sakura-chan! It's not like you to be late! But I think I know why... the damned elevators don't work, and I had to run all the way up the st-" The moment Sakura feared had come. Naruto had finally seen Sasuke.

But to her surprise, it hadn't ended up in a fistfight.

"SASUKE-TEME!" Naruto grinned, punching him in the shoulder. "Dobe..." Sasuke muttered, although he was clearly happy to see the blonde.

"Teme, hurry your ass up and go back to Konoha! Obaa-chan even said she won't give you any punishment," Naruto waved his arms frantically over his head, partially due to all the happiness he was feeling. His other best friend was in front of him, after all these years.

"Sasuke..." the boys' heads snapped up. They had almost forgotten that Sakura was there.

"Did you kill Orochimaru?" she asked, no emotion in her voice. Sasuke nodded.

"I killed him half a year ago. Nobody was going to use my body. He's too weak to have it," he gave them his trademark smirk.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, Tsunade-obaa-chan sent me a scroll this morning. She's sending Sai-teme with us, because she wants to make sure that we don't get ourselves into deep shit, not to mention that Hinata isn't exactly strong enough to take on an Akatsuki..." Naruto continued his fuming, furious that Tsunade had to send in their team member because she thought they would be too weak to handle the 'almighty Akatsuki'.

_Sai...teme?_ Sasuke sure didn't show it, but he was hurt. The only person that Naruto called a bastard was him.

"Oh, Sai-kun's coming! I missed him! He's been in the Water Country for so long! How long was it... a year?" Sakura's mood suddenly went from cold and emotionless to genuine happiness.

'' No, Sakura-chan, he was in Water Country for nine months..." Naruto corrected.

"Wow, I wonder how Sai-kun looks now! He was handsome before, but... nine months! Maybe he has scars all over his face... he might have gotten an attitude change...but I doubt that..." Sakura continued talking about their teammate, which had filled in for Sasuke when he had left. _Sai-kun! Since when did she call anyone else that! _Sasuke began to wonder if they had forgotten about him. _No... they haven't forgotten... they just replaced me. _Sasuke attempted to calm himself down, but...The word echoed in his mind.

_Replaced..._

_Replaced..._

_Replaced..._

"Hey, Sasuke, you okay? You look pretty pale..." The next thing he knew, Sakura's face was inches away from his, and her hand was on his forehead. Her viridian eyes flickered with concern, but other than that, there was nothing. He wasn't sure about it before... but he knew now.

Sakura Haruno had gotten over Sasuke Uchiha.

"I'm fine," he seethed. Surprisingly, she wasn't taken aback by this. She just sat back, her face emotionless like before.

''Very well, if you say so. Naruto-kun, let's go, aren't the others waiting for us?" Sakura asked in a monotone voice.

He reluctantly agreed. "Okay, Sakura-chan... Come back soon, okay, teme?" With that, the two walked away from Sasuke, who was glued to his spot due to shock. _Naruto-kun?... She really left me. _Was all he could think.

The only person that had probably ever truely loved him had left.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Naruto and Sakura were both clambering down the long sets of stairs. Naruto sighed. _Sakura-chan didn't have to be like that... and that TEME didn't have to go get all mad at her for FINALLY worrying!_ he angrily thought. _What the hell is this guy's problem? Saku-chan is everything that a guy could want! Ugh... As soon as Sai-teme gets his ass over here... Sasuke'll see what he's been missing..._ He thought of the person that had replaced Sasuke over the past three years. It was so obvious that he liked Sakura, and yet, she didn't get it. _OH NO! WHAT IF SHE'S GONNA END UP LIKE ME! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT HINATA LIKED ME UNTIL SAKURA-CHAN MADE HER SAY SO! _Naruto gasped, blaming himself for Sakura's blindness. _Saku-chan... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..._

He continued saying sorry to her in his head until he crashed into her.

"Naruto-kun, what _are_ you doing?" Sakura sighed, holding out a hand for him to grab. Naruto sheepishly grinned as he took her offer.

"Haha, thanks, Saku-chan! Sorry, I was thinking about... uh... Hinata!" he held his breath, hoping that Sakura would buy it. Fortunately for him, she did.

"Awh, Naruto-kun! THAT'S SO SWEET!" she cried happily, hugging him for a brief moment before bounding back down the seemingly never-ending stairs.

"Whew... for a moment there, I didn't think she'd actually think it was true!" he sighed out of relief before realizing how far away from him she was.

"Saku-chan! WAAAAAAAAAAIT!" Naruto called out, frantically running after the pink-haired medic nin.

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By the time the both of them had gotten downstairs, Naruto was already blue from the lack of air. Tenten sat up.

"Oi, Saku-chan! What took you so long?" she asked, looking quite annoyed. Sakura and Naruto both casted glances at each other before Sakura spoke.

"We... ran into Sasuke." she said, a small smile adorning her face. At this, the whole group stood up, all fingering their weapons. Naruto and Sakura sweatdropped.

"N-no... guys, we didn't fight... more of... talk..." Narut flatly told them, still on the ground. Heaving a disappointed sigh, the team sat back down.

"W-well... how is Sasuke-san doing?" Hinata timidly asked, her fingers nervously fumbling about. "He's the same teme as ever." Naruto replied, a cute scowl on his facial features. At this, Hinata couldn't help but think how cute he was when he did that.

"Sakura-chan, is Orochimaru dead? And is Sasuke-san coming back to Konoha?" Neji questioned.

"Well, Neji-kun, Sasuke said that he killed him a half year ago. But about him coming back, we honestly don't know," Sakura confessed.

"AWH, LET'S JUST GET GOING!" an impatient Ino was waiting at the door in a flash. Chouji checked the time.

"Wow, it's already 11:37. We really need to get going, Captain," he urged. Naruto just grinned sheepishly and nodded, leading them out of the hotel.

"Naruto, which way do we go?" Shikamaru lazily asked. Naruto, however, had enough trouble trying to read the map.

"Saku-chan, I think the map's no good..." he trailed off, not quite sure what to do. Sakura heaved a great sigh, walking towards him.

"Naruto..." she rotated the map," you baka, you're reading it upside-down!" Sakura gave him a big pound to the head and took the map for herself.

"Left," she instructed, pulling up Naruto and giving him to Hinata.

Sakura continued giving out instructions to the shop until they arrived at their destination.

"We take what we need and tell the cashier to send the bill to the Hokage after we leave," Sakura ordered as everyone scattered into the various areas of the shop. She picked up a shopping basket and filled it to the brim with herbs, medicinal ointment, rubbing alchohol, bandages, everything they would need on the battlefield. After only a half hour, Sakura had the hardest time even picking up the basket.

"Damn the neccessities of a medic nin..." she grumbled, heaving the heavy basket around until a person behind her picked it up with ease. Sakura was about to thank the person when she caught a glimpse of his face.

"Sai-kun!" she squealed, hugging his well-built body tightly.

"Hey, ugly. Didja need some help?" he teased, only to be rewarded with a big smack to the head. He expected her to be angry when he looked up, but to his surprise, Sakura was smiling.

"Geez, I missed you so muuuch!" Sakura laughed, helping Sai up.

"Yeah, I pretty much knew where to find you. After all, you don't really need anything other than the medicinal herbs and stuffs, right?" Sai asked, following Sakura around with the basket as she continued to fill it up with more stuff.

She shook her head. "This time, Tsunade-sama ordered us medic nins to fight. I'll need weapons after I get this he--waaa!" Sakura tripped backward as she tried to reach an herb on the top shelf. She braced herself for the fall until a pair of strong arms caught her.

He sighed. "You really are helpless..." he muttered, taking the herb she had tried to get and putting it in the basket, not putting her down, resting his chin on the top of her head. Sakura blushed as he reached over her.

**_Ya know, he's a _real_ cutie._**

_Oh shiiiit... I thought I finally lost you after Sasuke left!_

_**Oh, shut UP. I'll always be a part of you, whether you like it or not...**_

_JOY._

**_I'll ignore that. You know, you're the brightest kunoichi in all of Konoha,_** _**and you may be the brighter side,**_ **_but even I, the less smart one, can tell that he likes you..._**

_What! No. Sai-kun doesn't like me! He likes Eika! _

_**Wait, who?**_

_Ugh, Eika Chang! You know, that one Chinese girl! The one with reeeeeeeeeeeeally pretty, straight, black hair! And the pretty hazel eyes... _

_**Oh, her? **_

_YES, HER!_

_**Geez. Maybe... but he still likes us. HELL YEAH!**_

_Ugh! WHATEVER!_

"Err, Sakura, you okay?" Sai's face popped up in front of hers without warning. She let out a small "EEP!" and took a step back, relaxing after she realized who he was.

"Sai-kun, don't scare me like that!" Sakura sighed.

"Anyways, are you done? Because you still need weapons," he reminded her, pointing to a few shelves ahead, which was conviently marked 'weapons'. There, they found Tenten mumbling something about how her weapons were so much better and how she could make better shuriken out of Chouji's potato chips.

"Sakura, lemme get this stuff for you. You're such a klutz that you'll wind up stabbing yourself," Sai suggested boredly.

"Yeah... well... I need..." Sakura recited a list of weapons that she would need, and Sai got every one of them. They were quite unaware, however, of a young man spying on them from the wooden beams above.

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Sasuke was quite interested in what they had been doing. This... Sai person seemed to like Sakura _very_ much, and she didn't even notice it. _She's getting it from the dobe..._ he thought.

"Pssst, Sasuke-teme..." A voice behind Sasuke almost made him jump. He turned around, finding Naruto sitting a foot or so away from him. The two both watched Sakura and Sai pick and tease at each other.

"They're a cute couple, ne?" Naruto asked, succeeding in ticking Sasuke off.

"Hn," he replied, annoyed by his remark.

"Sasuke, you know, she's gotten over you." Sasuke already knew this, but hearing it come from Naruto... it meant it was most likely true.

Sasuke felt his body go rigid. "Y-Yeah. I know."

"Then why are you so pissed at her?'' Naruto asked quietly. "She never did anything besides care about you." The air between them was still for a moment before Sasuke broke the silence with his answer.

"I... I don't know why," Sasuke confessed. "Whenever I look at her, I just... I get mad at her for some unknown reason."

Naruto glanced at his best friend beside him and went back to watching Sai and Sakura.

"Is it...Is it because the only girl that actually loved you had forgotten about ever doing so?" Sasuke's head snapped up. Naruto's answer surprised him.

"W-what?" _Since when did the dobe become so sappy?_

"Every other girl in the village had a crush on you... but Sakura-chan was different, wasn't she? Sure... I bet she got really annoying sometimes... but... didn't she tell you over and over and over how much... she loved you?" Sasuke was dumbfounded. "Why...did she...stop...?" he managed to ask. Even though Naruto didn't hear his question, he still answered it.

"But Sasuke, she doesn't love you anymore... and... I think she'll start liking Sai-teme sometime real soon... they get closer every time they see each other. You don't know...you don't know how much Sakura-chan cried after you left, and I think... she just grew tired of it," Naruto explained, a look of sadness clouding his face as they both watched the two tease each other on the way back to the cashier.

"Teme, I gotta go before they find me. See ya!" Naruto waved a short goodbye before jumping off the high beam and dashing out the store before Sakura and Sai saw him. Sasuke could only watch them as his mind was drowned in a sea of thoughts.

_So... she left me... for real._

"Sai-kun, have you seen Naruto-kun?" she asked, her head turning from side to side as she tried to find a splash of his spiky yellow hair. Sai looked around too.

"Nope. I dun' see him," he shrugged, giving the giant basket to the woman at the counter. Sakura remembered how the billing procedure was supposed to go, and spoke to the cashier while she was ringing up everything.

"Oh, excuse me, could you please send the bill to the Hokage in Konoha? Here's the letter she wanted me to show you as proof..." Sakura flashed the letter to the young woman who nodded and continued ringing up all the items that Sakura and Sai had taken off the shelves.

When the cashier had finished putting all the items inside more than nine of their biggest bags, Sakura took five and walked out the door, where the team was waiting. Sai came out ten seconds after she did, carrying four.

"Sai-teme! Welcome back! How was the mission?" Naruto asked, acting as if he hadn't seen Sai yet.

"Hey dickless wonder... it went pretty well, but the guys we were supposed to take care of were so weak. I hope the Akatsuki will be a lot tougher..." Sai remarked, a big smirk tugging at his lips. Sai continued greeting everyone else as Naruto fumed in the background.

Sakura and Hinata, however, had the hard task of stuffing everything they bought into a large bag. After about twenty minutes, Sakura laid back, while mumbling," I'm doooone..." Soon after, Hinata joined as well. Sakura watched the team talk about previous missions and stuffs on the grass as Hinata and Sakura laid about fifteen feet away.

"S-Saku-chan..." Hinata quietly said.

"Mmm?" Sakura yawned, stretching her arms out.

"What was it like... seeing Sasuke-san again?" she blurted out. Sakura stopped stretching for a moment.

"You know, it was... kinda like living through my genin years again..." Hinata nodded.

"Like... I'd look at him... and then, you realize how much everything has changed. I mean... "Sakura's eyes shifted their gaze to the grassy floor under them," I saw him, and I just thought of everything that Team Seven did together, you know? It's... It's been a long time..." she trailed off, and laid back again, looking at the blue afternoon sky. Hinata stayed in her sitting position, smiling at Sakura.

"Memories of the past are meant to be kept. Whether they're bad or good... they made you into the person you are today, right now. So... it's _good_," Hinata paused, trying to find the right words to say,"It's good that you can remember things." Sakura pondered this.

"Yeah... you're right..." she sighed, adjusting to a more comfortable position, as Hinata did the same. The two stared at the noon sky before Chouji called them to eat the take-out that Shikamaru and Ino had gotten after they had finished shopping.

"Let's eat!" Naruto shrieked, punching his fist in the air as he dug his face into the many bowls of ramen that Ino had gotten him.

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Ten Minutes Later

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"That was goooood," Chouji happily sighed, patting his huge stomach. Naruto, who ate more ramen than he should have, let out a happy burp. Hinata giggled.

"Shika-kun, who has which Akatsuki member?" Ino asked her boyfriend. He sighed, and pulled out a list from his back pocket.

"Well... Naruto wanted Deidara, I got Tobi, Neji got Kisame, Ino has Reika(There's supposed to be a female Akatsuki member, but they haven't revealed her name yet, so I have to make it up! GOMEN!), Chouji has Zetsu, Tenten has Hidan, and Hinata was going to get Kazuku, but Sai's gonna take her place, and... Sakura has the leader," Shikamaru recited.

"O-kay, since we're done here, let's just go walk around the town!" Naruto grinned. Everyone cleaned up and headed for the sidewalk(They were at a park across the street from the store).

"Hinata-chan! Gimme your backpack...it's too heavy for you," Naruto ran up to Hinata, and she gladly offered him the heavy sack. Sakura, on the other hand, could manage herself just fine... but Sai came anyways, literally yanking it off of her.

"UGH! FINE! YOU WIN!" Sakura gave up, letting him have the backpack. He smirked, walking beside her. Usually, she'd feel at ease around Sai... but... ever since...

**_You know, you're the brightest kunoichi in all of Konoha,_** **_and you may be the brighter side,_** **_but even I, the less smart one, can tell that he likes you..._**

It was so strange, thinking that her other best friend liked her.

"Sakura!" Ino, who was behind Sakura, beckoned her to come walk beside her. "Sai, is it okay?" she asked, wondering if he'd be alright. He gave her a nod, then, noticing her hesitation, gently pushed her towards Ino.

Taking this as a green light, Sakura ran towards her other blonde friend.

"What, Ino-chan?" she asked.

"Saku-chan... do you," Ino whispered," like Sai?"

Sakura was about to give her a nice retort when an explosion right next to them occured.

"SHIT!" Naruto cursed. Sai and Naruto gave Sakura and Hinata their respective backpacks, and ran back to their previous position. Everyone got into their fighting stances. Sakura was in the front line, Hinata was in the back.

"A-are they...?" Ino trailed off, hoping it wasn't true. Too bad for her.

Eight figures draped in robes materialized as the smoke faded away.

"Th-They're here early..." Neji mumbled. The fight had finally begun.

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**YAY! I FINISHED IT! OMG THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! I FINALLY GOT 100! I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD GET THAT MANY SO EARLY, ESPECIALLY ON MY FIRST STORY, CUZ I SUCK AT WRITING! XD THANK YOU AAAAAAAAAAAALL!**


	7. Chapter 7

**NOTICE!! This is an edited chapter. I reread my old one... and I absolutely HATED it. So here's an edited version. :D**

**Thanks to my reviewers!!**

**Odat: **Thanks so much!! Good guess... but there's no point in making Sasuke the leader, huh? XD He'd ruin the whole plot if that happened... lol. Thanks for the review!

**ForeheadKAT**: HELL YEAH FOR DRAMATIC EFFECTS!!XD Thanks for the review!!

**pink razor**: YES!! I UPDATED! WOOT WOOT! lol. Thanks for the review, I needed someone else to like Saku, it'd make things... complicated. XD

**lanie-chan**: I'M SORRY!! THIS IS MY FIRST FIGHT SCENE, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!! (runs and hides in corner) Thanks for the review!

**crazy4sasuxsaku**: Thank you soooo much. lol. And YES!! THIS IS SASUxSAKU!! HELL YEAH FOR SASUxSAKU!! XD thanks for the review!!

**martyrdom-99:** Here's a new chapter!! Thanks so much for the review!!

**naruto fan**: Thanks, here's a new chapter! Enjooooy!!

**rebel-girl**: Yes, Akatsuki to the scene of the... idk, they come to mess things up! XD Here's your chapter, don't worry, I'm ALL OUT SASUxSAKU!! CHA!!

**shadow kunoichi**: haha, it's just like Naruto... XD Thanks for your review!!

**cherryblossomxsasuke**: Awwww, thanks so much!! Here's a new chappie for ya. Thanks for the review!!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and only**: I'm so sorry!! Scroll down, it's at the end of the page. Thanks for your review!!

**sylvia**: YEAH!! 13 YEAR OLD POWER!! WOOTWOOT!! Thanks for the review and encouragement!!

**jaded sincerity**: lmao. you and him?? LOL. I know, Sai and Sasuke are HOT. haha. Tell my little sis I love her. lol. Thanks for the review!!

**Crazy Gal42**: Here's your update!! XD Thanks for the review!

**ShadowRonin**: Thanks so much! I loved the review!! Please enjoy!! Oh... this is my first fight scene, sorry if I disappoint you!!

**flame**: Thank you so much! I love the encouragement you always give me. Here's a chapter!

**2 sided coin**: I'll try not to rush, I plan for this story to be AT LEAST 15 chapters. I just hope you'll all stick with me till then. Thanks for the review!!

**babybugichoo95**: Well... I can't give anything away yet!! XD but rest assured, this is MOST DEFINITELY A SASU/SAKU STORY!! Thanks for the review!

**sharinganluvr**: Thank you!! Here's a new chapter. Enjoy!!

**sailor winx**: haha, I'll consider your idea. And if I use it, credits go to you. X3 Thanks for the review!!

**Misstressblossom**: THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! HERE'S A CHAPTER!!! WHEEEEE!!!

**LittleOneX3**: YAY!! COOOKIES!!! haha. I'M REEEEEEEEEALLY HYPER!! WHEEEEE!!! lol. Thanks so much for the encouragement!!

**Jas:** Thank you so much!! XD Here's a new chapter, please review!!

**Mai**: Haha, thanks for the vote and review!!

**Dark Alley:** YES!! HERE GOES THE FIGHT!! WOOT WOOT!! uhm... this is my first fight scene, however, so I apologize if it sucks. XD

**AngelxDeath:** Here's your update!! Please continue reviewing!! XD

**critter141151**: lol! THANKS FOR THE REVIEW!!! XD Please continue reading!!!

**Rob:** Haha, thank you... XD My next story will be coming around November... I need to concentrate on this one first. I might do a sequel, but it depends how this one turns out. Thanks for the review!!

**onigiri-kun: **Thank you so much!! Haha, and yes, this is my first story... X3 Thanks for the review!!

**THIS IS IMPORTANT!! **

**I'd like everyone to know that this is my first fight scene, please, no flames!!!**

**I'm trying my best to stick in a whole bunch of jutsu, please don't tell me that I'm doing this or something else wrong. **

**Other than that, enjoy!! XD**

My Cherry Blossom

_**Last time: **_

_**You know, you're the brightest kunoichi in all of Konoha,** **and you may be the brighter side,** **but even I, the less smart one, can tell that he likes you...**_

_It was so strange, thinking that her other best friend liked her._

_"Sakura!" Ino, who was behind Sakura, beckoned her to come walk beside her. "Sai, is it okay?" she asked, wondering if he'd be alright. He gave her a nod, then, noticing her hesitation, gently pushed her towards Ino._

_Taking this as a green light, Sakura ran towards her other blonde friend._

_"What, Ino-chan?" she asked._

_"Saku-chan... do you," Ino whispered," like Sai?"_

_Sakura was about to give her a nice retort when an explosion right next to them occured._

_"SHIT!" Naruto cursed. Sai and Naruto gave Sakura and Hinata their respective backpacks, and ran back to their previous position. Everyone got into their fighting stances. Sakura was in the front line, Hinata was in the back._

_"A-are they...?" Ino trailed off, hoping it wasn't true. Too bad for her._

_Eight figures draped in robes materialized as the smoke faded away._

_"Th-They're here early..." Neji mumbled. The fight had finally begun._

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she saw the leader of the organization step down from the rubble. His ginger colored hair was three shades lighter than it should have been, but since the white wall was blown up to shreds, dust flew everywhere, coating the tresses in a matte powder.

"Well, well, well... looks like we have a nice little ANBU squad on our hands. Too bad Itachi wasn't here to share the fun..." the leader smirked, the Akatsuki's elegant black and red robes billowing in the wind.

"Just who the hell are you?" Sai snarled. _Sakura's taking on THAT guy?_

"Seeing as you won't live long enough to remember it, my name's Kumori Uchitoru," Kumori(I don't know his real name... it hasn't come up in the manga) sighed, advancing toward the ANBU group. Sakura moved quickly and stood in his path. Kumori's eyes narrowed.

"You're in my way, woman. Would you like to die now or step aside?" he asked, boredom reeking from his voice. Sakura smirked.

Kumori lifted one of his brows. "And what the hell do you think you're doing? I'm an Akatsuki member, if you didn't notice. You want to lose your life now, or live long enough to give at least _one_ child to this earth, perhaps from one of us," he motioned towards his comrades, who all snickered and howled in anticipation(at this, Sai roared in rage, a huge vein that, in size, could rival Sasuke's ego)," in place of yourself?" He suddenly found himself with his nose an inch away from hers. He stared deep into her eyes, and noticed she didn't flinch. She stared with equal intensity, not faultering a bit. _Strange... first time a woman hasn't backed away... shame she wasn't with us. _Sakura's words brought Kumori back from his perverted dreams(he should co-write with Jiraiya, his mind's even dirtier... now THAT'S saying something).

"I'm not blind, you dumbass. I'm not blonde either. And your robes... they look like SHIT." With that, Sakura punched him square in the jaw, something he wasn't expecting, especially from an _extremely _sexy kunoichi that seemed quite weak in appearance. Looks can be decieving, and Sakura proved this in a matter of seconds. Kumori got up, wiping the blood trickling down his chin with the back of his hand.

_Che... what a **loser**. _Sakura rolled her eyes.

**_HELL YEAH! WE KICK ASS!!_ **Her inner self was quite rowdy today. Sakura mentally smiled.

_You know... you always were a good boost of an ego..._

_**HELL YEAH I AM! WOOT WOOT!! I'm the BEST!**_

_Joy._

However, Kazuku was a bit angry at the fact that a WOMAN hit his leader, and readied a few kunai in his hands.

"BITCH!" he snarled, charging at Sakura, but came to an abrupt stop because Sai got in his way. "So the overprotective boyfriend comes to his pretty little lady's rescue, huh?" Kazuku chuckled, Sai's face adorned with a blush that could rival Hinata's, but still held a glare that could kill. "But too bad... We're gonna keep her alive... the other ones are pretty... but she's **drop. Dead. Sexy.**" _WHAT...THE...FUCK?! _Sai thought, his legendary vein popping out once again. Seeing at how this angered him, Kazuku continued.

"We're gonna take her to our hideout... and we'll have lots of fun with her... make her _scream_ our names... and it's fine if she doesn't wanna come with us... we like 'em feisty..." At that, Sai couldn't take it anymore. He charged at Kazuku with incredible speed, kunai poised in his left hand, shuriken in his right. He threw them all with such force, you couldn't even see them until they hit their target. Unfortunately for Sai, Kazuku just barely dodged everything, except for one aimed at his arm, slightly grazing his bicep.

He tore his gaze away from his arm, shocked to see Sai's death glare.

"You... stay away from Sakura... she's MINE!"

Oooooh boy. Was Kazuku in for it now.

Meanwhile, everyone else found their opponents and began fighting. Hinata decided that she'd help Ino, seeing as there was no point in healing anybody until someone killed an Akatsuki... which wouldn't be in a while.

Ino and Hinata stood together, side by side, as Reika stood alone. There was a silence between them, the breeze making Reika's robes flow gently with the wind. Her dark, thick, azure hair billowed carelessly behind her, the flower tucked behind her ear swaying from side to side. Reika broke the silence between them.

"You know... I don't like fighting... " she began, her icy blue-colored eyes suddenly shifting to the ANBU girls," But I will fight for the sake of my team... just as you are fighting for the sake of yours." Hinata nodded sadly, knowing that at least one of them wouldn't come out of this battle alive. Even the normally bouncy Ino seemed a bit down, knowing what was about to come.

"But before we battle... let me introduce myself. Yoshimura Reika, of the Hidden Village in the Mist." She gave them both a polite smile, of which they returned.

"Hyuuga Hinata, eldest daughter of the Hyuuga clan in Konoha."

"Yamanaka Ino, ANBU interrogator of Konoha."

"It's a pleasure... to meet you both. Let our battle commence." Reika gave them curt nod and shifted her body into a fighting stance, the ANBU doing the same. After a few seconds, only blurs could be seen, the sound of metal hitting metal resonating in the still air.

"Dokugiri!" Reika cried, a poisonous mist freeing itself from her mouth. Hinata quickly countered this with a wind jutsu she learned a year ago.

"Futon! Daitoppa no jutsu!" A huge gust of wind blew the mist away, but Hinata wasn't ready for Reika's kunai, which were flying at her dangerously fast. _Oh no!_ She braced herself for the weapons, but they never came. She opened one eye, and saw the kunai on the floor, in front of Ino's feet.

"Pull yourself together, Hinata!" Ino commanded, blocking and dodging Reika's attacks with difficulty. "We _have_ to win this!"

In truth, Hinata didn't want to fight this girl. She looked only about two years older than them, and she was a kind soul, just like that Haku-boy that Naruto had told her about. _Naruto-kun..._ _If I don't fight this girl... I might never see you again... I HAVE to do this!_

"Hyoro no Jutsu!!" Ino's hands performed the necessary seals, and almost immediately, a huge icy prison enveloped Reika. She smirked.

"Do you _really_ think this can hold me off?" Reika sighed. "Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!" A ball of flame in the shape of a dragon erupted from her mouth, burning through the ice. The Akatsuki member calmly walked towards Ino, who was panting from chakra exhaustion, a small rivulet of sweat running from her temple to her chin, but still had a kunai ready in her hand.

_Dammit! I'm almost out of chakra! I can run away... but Hinata's here, and she probably won't have the heart to take on this girl... and Naruto will kill me if I run... if Reika doesn't get to me first. What the...?_ Ino's thoughts were interrupted as soon as she hear a quiet, yet determined voice cry, " Byakuugan!" Her head snapped to the right, and saw that it was indeed Hinata, not Neji. _Hinata..._

"Glad you finally joined the fight... I'll let your friend rest... I won't attack her, on my honor as an Akatsuki." Reika gave a small smile, walking away from Ino.

A pair of ice blue and silver eyes met, seemingly telling each other that they were ready. After a few seconds, the fight began. Hinata ran towards Reika, performing hand seals for her new technique. _Here goes..._

"KAZE NO YAIBA!!" Hinata screamed, a blade of wind slashing through the air, being so fast that Reika had no time to block it.

"AUGH!" she cried, holding her bleeding arm, pausing for a moment before continuing to charge at the Hyuuga heiress. _Where... did she learn that jutsu? It's an A rank! _Reika threw her robe off, revealing a tight black sleeveless turtleneck with a fishnet covering and small black shorts.

"Mikazuki no Mai!" Immediately, three Reikas materialized, all performing complicated dances with their swords, successfully confusing Hinata. _Which one is real?? _she asked herself, backing away as the Akatsuki clones drew near. Her eyes wildly scanned them, searching for any signs of difference in their chakra. _No... no... is... is it that one?_ The one on the far left had a slightly higher level of chakra, in fact, so slight, you wouldn't even notice it.

Wasting no time on this discovery, Hinata performed hand seals as fast as she could before bellowing out, once again, "KAZE NO YAIBA!" The huge blade sliced Reika's stomach like a pizza cutter cutting through cheese, and blood spewed freely from the fresh wound. However, Hinata couldn't block all three of the kunai that she had hurled towards her.

"Gah!" Hinata cried out in pain, clutching her shoulder and thigh, healing them as fast as possible, Reika kneeling on the hard sandy floor, panting heavily.

_I... I _can't_ miss this chance! I HAVE to do it!_ Hinata thought, pushing herself to form the hand seals needed for her final jutsu.

"Do-Doton..." Hinata gulped, unsure of how to continue. At last, she screamed," Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!!" Reika was pulled from her spot into the hard ground, her head the only thing sticking out. Reika panted, waiting for the final blow. However, nothing came. She opened a pale eye; peering out to see Hinata standing there, unsure of what to do.

"Why..." Reika began, stopping, then continuing. "Why won't you kill me?!" Hinata said nothing, looking at the pretty Akatsuki member with kind eyes.

Reika grit her teeth. "I just tried to **kill** you!! Why won't you attack?!"

"Do you really think... do you really think that I ever wanted to kill anyone in the first place?" Hinata quietly asked, looking to the sky.

"It's your job as a shinobi to take out any enemies that oppose danger to you or your comrades! Are you denying your duty?" Reika shrieked, wriggling her lower body desperately, but to no avail, since she was underground from the neck down(it's the same jutsu that Kakashi used on Sasuke during the bell test).

Hinata glared at the trapped missing nin, her fists gripping the kunai even tighter than they were before.

"I'm a medic nin. True... my job is to kill. That is what all shinobi are for. We are tools." Hinata spoke emotionlessly. "However..." here, the emotions returned,"As a medic nin, I am relieved of my duties as a killer! I have no intention of taking your life." She calmed down for a moment, relaxing her grip and shoulders visibly as she began walking toward Reika, kneeling by her.

"I'm sorry..." was all Hinata could say as she knocked out the Akatsuki, cancelling her jutsu. Ino was suddenly at her side.

"You did well, Hinata-chan," Ino gave a small smile, which Hinata returned. "I think she'll be out for a few hours. She's pretty tired," Hinata sighed, she was tired herself.

"Will you still be able to heal anyone?" Ino inquired, not taking her eyes off of Reika. "Oh, of course I can! I just can't heal to the extent that Sakura-chan can... After all, she _is_ Konoha's female prodigy..." Hinata chuckled.

"You're right! But you still can't deny it, Hina-chan. You have **mad** healing powers," Ino exaggerated, running off to help anyone she could before Hinata could retort.

_Hinata... you're right. Saku-chan's the female Konoha prodigy... and Sasuke's still the Uchiha wonder._

"Is that the best you can do?" Kazuku taunted, dodging several kunai that were thrown at his face.

"Shut up!" Sai snarled, pulling out his inkbrush and paper scrolls, smoothly and skillfully painting ink animals, flicking his wrist here and there, dodging everything that Kazuku was chucking at his body, the projectiles landing with a dull, muffled thud behind him on the trees. He released the creatures from their scroll, commanding them to attack the criminal.

"That girlfriend of yours really _is_ cute. I don't think I'd mind taking her. Have you seen the way she moves those hips? Oh, damn, I'd give anything to see what she's got under all those clothes..." Kazuku was having the time of his life annoying the former ROOTS member.

"Like I said, you stay the hell away from her! She's mine!" Sai repeated, vemon coating and dripping from his words.

Kazuku smirked. "Too bad... I was under the impression that her heart still belonged to Uchiha's little brother... _Sasuke_, was it?" Sai was just about to throw a few kunai when he suddenly stopped, Kazuku's words registering into his mind.

"You... Just _shut up._ I might just have been a replacement for him, and at first... at first, they treated me just like they treated that traitor! But Sakura and Naruto and everyone else... They see that I'm not him! And Sakura realizes that! If getting with Sasuke is what will make her happy, then _fine_! I don't care! But no matter what... right now... she's not with him. And if she does get with him, I'll stop calling her my own. But she isn't, so right now, she's mine, so LEAVE. HER. THE. HELL. **ALONE**!!"

"What's wrong, Kumori? Is this woman beating the shit out of you? Awww, I'm sooo sorry! I didn't know you were this weak!" Sakura smirked, her words clearly poking at Kumori's overinflated ego... or pride... or whatever he called it.

"Bitch... You're _dead_," he snarled, charging at her with tons of weapons in his hands, throwing them at her body. She easily dodged them, but failed to see a clone behind her, throwing a horde of shuriken at her back.

_Oh no..._ Sakura thought. She couldn't move fast enough. The shuriken's velocity was increasing with every moment. There was no possible way for her to block it.

A black and red blur sped in front of her, successfully blocking all of the projectiles from reaching their target. His clan symbol was sewn neatly on his back. Sakura smirked.

"Hey Sasuke... Welcome to the party. You're just in time for the cake."

**I hope you all liked the edited version of this! The other one was super cheesy. Thanks for reviewing!**

**QUIZ RESULTS!! **

MOST PEOPLE REQUESTED A LOVE TRIANGLE BETWEEN TENTEN AND NEJI. SO YES... TENTEN AND ROCK LEE WILL BE TOGETHER FOR LIKE, ONE CHAPTER. BUT IT WILL BE NEJI/TENTEN. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE...

P.S. I'M SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT, AND I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT THEY WILL BE AROUND THIS LONG FROM NOW ON... OCCASIONALLY MORE, SCHOOL'S REALLY GETTING IN THE WAY. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.


	8. Chapter 8

**YES!! I'm back. And better than ever!! For all my GREAT readers out there that were concerned about my moving and how I was putting up with it, THANK YOU! I'm doing much much _much_ better about everything since I started school. I'd also like to say that ever since I've moved, I came up with a total of nine new story ideas!! So as soon as I finish this, I'll be working on my next story, a much better one that I can update a lot faster because I don't have to share a comp with anyone now! YAY! REJOICE, DEAR READERS!! (raises a toast) TO MY READERS!! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else that's copyrighted in this story.

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**

**Thanks so much to...**

**sakura9898: **Thank youuu. :)

**Pinkis: **Haha, I love Naruto! I don't see how people can say he's stupid. I mean, sure, his 'Believe it!' thing is getting old, but other than that, how can you NOT love him?! Thank you so much!

**brenu: **Thanks!

**kawaii-rae: **Haha, sumimasen, my update was a bit late...

**ShadowRonin: **Thank you. I'm trying not to make things as corny, and after a while, I'm going to edit my story and past chaps because I reread them... and they suck. :) And school shall never stop me! I will write!! -pokes pencil in air, stabs teacher on accident- oops... but I'll stick in all the jutsus in the next chapter because I just want to update NOW! Well, here's a chapter!

**Hansha-otoku: **She **was** surprised. :D It's just that there was no point in showing it, right?! Not to mention there was no time for her to be surprised. :) Here's his little reaction... Thank you!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only: **I love Lee! I just can't see him with Sakura or Tenten, but I guess the whole Tenten and Lee thing grew on me. :/ But no matter what, NEJIxTENTEN SHALL PREVAIL!!

**dark Alley: **Thank you so much! Here's a chapter... and a cookie.

**jaded sincerity: **I miss you guys! You should start writing. Haha. -hugsandkisses-

**hey:** I'm sorry! Actually, I'm trying to take the SasuxSaku thing a bit slow. I have it all mapped out, I just wasn't sure what to do with Neji or Tenten. :) Thank you anyway!

**Uchihagirl468: **This is definitely, most DEFINITELY a SasuxSaku!! Trust me! I can't really take SaixSaku, but I don't exactly like NejixSaku either, so since Sai doesn't have anyone with him, he'll have to do... :/ and I love Kiba too much to make him see heartbreak. But thanks anyway!

**belinda: **-gasp- OF COURSE THIS IS A SASUXSAKU THING!! And to be honest, as much as I love Sai, you can punch him all you want in this fic. :) THank you so much!

**luv hate it: **Neji and Tenten all the way, girl. :D It's coming later! Just wait... Thank you!

**Twisted Madness: **Haha, thank you. :)

**ninaleoliona: **Haha, thanks. And yes, CHINESE!! One hundred percent! And we're going to Japan because my dad got a job transfer. Thanks again, and enjoy!

**sittinghere: **Haha, I like Sai, I just don't like him in this story. :) Thanks for your time, enjoy!

**nativechik04: **Here's an update! Thanks!

**Sasuke's Wife Sakura Uchiha: **I'll see if I can muster up the courage in myself and satisfy you with a chapter! Thank you!

**MyGoddessofthemoonandsun: **YUP! You'll see how all this works out eventually... :) And I hope I can get enough courage to do so! Thanks!

**Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90: **Haha, how is it weird? Other than Sasuke and Sakura, they've been the most frequently asked to have lemons. :) Thanks again!

**cherryblossom9496: **Reika will have an important role in the story later. You'll see. :) Thanks, and here's an update!

**Moiraine: **The only reason I'm putting up so much stress on NejixTenten is because I already know what to do with everyone else. SasuxSaku's mapped out, and so is HinaxNaru, along with ShikaxIno because if Temari's with Shikamaru, then Ino will still be crushing on Sasuke or going out with either Chouji, Lee, or Kiba! And nobody wants _that_! But Neji and Tenten are still kind of... unknown to me, seeing as I don't really see them together. Thank you though, and I hope I explained everything!

**Emily: **Thanks for the input! Here's an update!

**sweetyme18336: **Thank you so much! And I'll see if I can do that for you later, towards the end. :) Here's an update!

**Rob: **Thank you so much! You have no idea how much your compliments helped. :) I hope you like this new chapter!

**Anime Angel Goddess: **Happy Birthday to you!! I apologize because I wasn't able to update, but this chapter will be dedicated to you! Here's one of my longer updates.

**Hiei's Ningen Mate: **Wildomar?! Wow. My friends live there. :) And yeah, as much as I'd like to have all four pairings have lemons, it would look corny and rushed. XD But thanks for everything, Japan's fun!

**littlehomiieex3: **HAHA!! Well, I like your new name. :) homiieex3. That's awesome! But thanks for everything, and I already ate the cookie:D Here's an update!

**Midoriko0124: **:D You should bug her about it until she finally says yes. Either that or you're going to be grounded. :) I changed the ending and everything, it sucked. lol. If you'd like, reread it and give me your input. XD Thanks anyway! And your suggestions always come in handy!

**VcChick: **Thanks, but I didn't update as soon as I wanted to...-cry- oh well, here's a new chapter, hot off the press!

**Daydreamer22057: **Haha, Reika's going to have another use later... You'll see. :) Thank you so much for your time, here's a chappie!

**naruto-fan001: **SasuxSaku is my FAVORITE pairing of all time. And by the way, nice poem:D

**Gaara's Cherry blossom: **Thank you, but I'm sorry if I already drove you nuts:D Here's an update though, and another's coming soon... I hope.

**lanie-chan: **LOL. ''Who should lemon first?'' That sounds funny. XD But there will be two triangles, and I think one of those triangles will be a square... :D Thanks a lot!!

**LittleOneX3: **Lol, I added that thing in there because I was bored. Humor, I guess?? But thank you so much! And I might as well pick straws... O.o Here's a chappie for you!

**Coweena: **Thanks! Update for you, right here!

**flame: **Roflmao, when I first saw your name, I started thinking, "Oh great, another flame," but thanks, you helped a lot! And Kiba's in here, he's just out in Konoha. :)

**Litl Angel: **Thanks, and yes, I'm 13. And NO, I'm not lying. :D But here's a chapter, and thank you so much for all you said!

**Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar: **Thanks, but I tried so hard to update faster! IT DIDN'T WORK!! -cry- But in return for your lovely review, HERE'S A CHAPTER!

**nickygirl: **Thanks for all your compliments! They made me smile like crazy. :) Here's a chapter, I hope it meets your 'fantastic' standards!

**ForeheadKat: **Haha, thanks!

**sailor winx: **Sai and Sakura? Slight. But nothing big. And as I've said before, SASUxSAKU ALL THE WAY!!

**Azalea14: **Thanks so much! Your review made me smile with each sentence I read! Thank you so much, and I hope you like this new chapter!

**Crazy Gal42: **Thanks, but I edited chapter seven so it'd be less corny! Please reread it if you have time!

**pinkrazor: **Haha, I know. This chappie is rolled in fluff though, so I hope you like!!

**sakura-koneko: **SaixSaku lemon is NOT happening. I couldn't do it if I tried:O But thank you so much! Chappie for you!

**rainingblood666: **SasuxSai all the way! Just hang on, it's a bit hectic in the story. :D

**Dymgo: **Thank you so much for EVERYTHING. You have absolutely NO IDEA how much your review means to me! And what sucks for you?? So what if you're 21?? I'm confused. What are you talking about??

**PhantomAngel17: **Thanks so much! Your review was awesome. Here's a chapter for you!

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**Confuzzled239: **Thank you, here's a chapter!

**princessaly:** I love ya big sis:D Thanks for everything! And here's a chapter for you!

**Uchihaluvr: **THANKS SO MUCH!! I can't believe that you thought this was an episode:D That's great! It's nice to know that I've got people who actually read my stories! Chappie, for you!

**Kyonekolover: **Sai comes later in the manga, after the timeskip to replace Sasuke. :( But anyway, thanks so much for your review!!

**gymgurl520: **Here's an update, and thanks for the review!

**fightinsurfgrl: **Thanks for the luck, I really need it:( But here's a chapter for sticking with me!

**ShadowRonin: **Thanks, I'm trying to manage, and I've been doing okay, I guess. But here's a long-awaited chapter, or should I say, LOOONG OVERDUE!! XD Thanks again!

**inuyashagurl: **Here's your update!

**littlehomiieex3: **Haha, it's beautiful! But thanks for the luck, I REALLY need it!! And again, here's a chapter for all of your awesome reviews!

**kmkoolj2010: **Here's a chapter!

**babybugichoo95: **Thanks for waiting! Update for you, HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

**pink-love-lost: **Thanks so much! I know I use a lot of details, it's just that I read so many that don't describe at all! XO So I'm starting to cut down. It's my first story, and I got a bit nervous in the beginning, so I added more than I should have. :D Thanks anyway! Here's a chapter!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only: **I'm sorry!! Chapter for you, right here!!

**4everDestined: **Thanks so much! I know that the Akatsuki members are most likely guys, but for my story to work out, I probably had to change the name. And actually, the Akatsuki member might be a woman, seeing as there is a picture of her/him with their back facing the reader, and whoever it was had a flower in their hair. But do guys have flowers as accessories:) And yes, I made them all ANBU at 15-17. Itachi was a captain at 13:O OOC, I sort of agree, but then again, a lot of fanfictions out there are. Thanks anyway!

**Falling Demon: **I guess moving here was okay. :/ But everything's so different. It's hard to get around over here. XO And good luck with your move, at least you still have a few months with your friends. I moved 3 months after we were told. XO Thanks though!

**XXFirefoxXX: **Haha, why shouldn't Sakura kick ass?! XD She's awesome!

**attack of the fish: **AWESOME NAME. XD And here's a chapter!

**Mysterious-Moon06: **I... HAVE... **UPDATED!! **-waves flag in air-

**Odat: **Haha, thank you so much! I'm trying my best to cope, and I guess it's kind of working. But again, thanks! And here's a chapter for you!

**Rob: **Thanks for the review, good luck bringing those grades up!! XD

**VcChick: **Thanks, and I'm having fun! Here's a chapter for your review!

**Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar: **Here's that update, and I hope you enjoy!!

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**IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ!!! **

**I know my last chapter, the fight with Reika, really sucked. So I edited it, and it's better. For all the people that thought it was sappy, reread, and REJOICE!! MANY THANKS TO YOU ALL!**

**On to the story!

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**My Cherry Blossom

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**Last time...**

_"What's wrong, Kumori? Is this woman beating the shit out of you? Awww, I'm sooo sorry! I didn't know you were this weak!" Sakura smirked, her words clearly poking at Kumori's over inflated ego... or pride... or whatever he called it. _

_"Bitch... You're dead," he snarled, charging at her with tons of weapons in his hands, throwing them at her body. She easily dodged them, but failed to see a clone behind her, throwing a horde of shuriken at her back. _

_Oh no... Sakura thought. She couldn't move fast enough. The shuriken's velocity was increasing with every moment. There was no possible way for her to block it. _

_A black and red blur sped in front of her, successfully blocking all of the projectiles from reaching their target. His clan symbol was sewn neatly on his back. Sakura smirked._

_"Hey Sasuke... Welcome to the party. You're just in time for the cake."

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_

"Hn," Sasuke replied, not even turning to look at her. "Is Itachi here?"

"No. If he was, either me or Naruto would be fighting him." Sasuke slightly turned his head toward her. "_You_, fight Itachi? I don't think so."

Sakura scoffed. " I'm not weak, anymore, Sasuke. In fact, I think--" She was cut short by a kunai whizzing by her head, cutting off a few strands of her hair, followed by a few dozen shuriken flying towards their bodies. _Dammit!_ Sakura thought. _I was so distracted by Sasuke that I almost lost my _life_! How stupid can I get?!_

Arming herself with four kunai in her right hand and about ten in her left, she charged at Kumori at full speed, occasionally throwing punches and kicks while discharging the weapons from her hands. Sasuke stood there and watched, amazed at how fast and, dare he say it, _powerful_ she had become. Was this really the (once) weak kunoichi that had followed him around, begging for attention and dates, defending him at all costs... the one that tried to stop him from leaving?

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?! Don't just stand there gawking at us fighting! If you're here to help, now's the time, you idiot!" Sakura yelled, snapping him from his reverie. _Hell, this can't be her. Yelling at me, calling me names, and no Sasuke-kun? How much can a girl change in a few years? _Apparently, a lot.

All she got was his trademark "Hn." But nonetheless, Sasuke fought by her side.

They worked perfectly together. Sakura would provide distractions, Sasuke would land a kick, and she'd give Kumori a good punch fused with her deadly chakra in the face. Sometimes, they'd use the same move, but vice versa. The two made tactics without having to say anything to the other, sending their message through their eyes.

But their plans hadn't been working lately. Sometimes, Kumori would fall for their schemes, but he'd been able to avoid most of them. And it was because of this that Sasuke had received a long slash in his back from Kumori's katana.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled(Sasuke was a bit surprised, she used to _scream_, not _yell_), "Daijobu?" Sasuke nodded slightly, since the injury started from the middle of his neck to his hip, forming a diagonal slash that was gushing blood out in a steady river down his shoulder blade.

Trying his best to ignore the pain, Sasuke threw all the strength he had into a single punch aimed at Kumori's face, and it landed right in the middle of his chest.

"AUGH!" Kumori bellowed, blood spewing freely from his mouth. The force of Sasuke's punch had made him fly backwards at an almost unbelievable speed, which also happened to be where Sakura was. She gave Kumori another chakra-infused downward kick, sending him four feet below ground level in a man-shaped crater.

"Sasuke! Do it! NOW!" Sakura screamed, weary from the fight. Most of her chakra had already been used, and she'd been fighting for almost two hours straight now. _Hinata-chan should have been able to take care of everyone else... _

Summoning as much chakra as he could handle without getting himself killed, Sasuke performed his trademark move.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!" He felt the fire well up from deep inside the back of his throat, making his mouth instinctively open so that it wouldn't get burned to a crisp. Directing it toward the crater where Kumori laid, Sasuke continued to hold the jutsu for as long as he could. But with the little chakra he had left, the jutsu started to die out. The flames sputtered and began to recede.

_He doesn't have enough chakra! _

Noticing this, Sakura ran toward the Uchiha's back, intending to only hold onto his shoulder, but accidentally tripped and pulled him into an embrace from behind. Almost immediately, Sasuke could feel her chakra being transferred to himself. _Oh well,_ she huffed_, I suppose hugging is a more efficient way of transferring chakra..._

_Is this... Is this what Sakura's chakra feels like? It's overwhelming... Her reserves are even bigger than mine!_

_Sasuke..._ she absently thought, staring up at his face, his countenance twisted in a look of pure concentration. _Maybe... maybe it's time I forgot my pride... and told him..._

While he was still using the jutsu, Sakura stood on her toes(she's only 5' 5") and hooked her chin on his shoulder. Sasuke visibly stiffened, but continued to expel flames from his open mouth.

"Sasuke... thank you..." she whispered, returning her feet to the ground as soon as he nodded. (**I wasn't going to make her say I LOVE YOU after so little time!**)

Just to make sure that Kumori was dead, Sasuke held onto the jutsu for another five minutes. Let me tell you, Sasuke cooks a mean BBQ. Today's special would be a roast Akatsuki leader, in your choice of rare, medium rare, and well done, garnished with a generous helping of chakra infused fists and feet on a stick, all for just two thousand yen a pound! (**Two thousand yen's not that much, it's around $19.00 in US money... I would know... Living in Japan now, right:D**)

Long after Sasuke had finished off Kumori, the two stayed in that awkward embrace. Sakura hugged him tighter, and Sasuke stared off into the distance. _It's as if she's telling me that she forgives me... _However, Sasuke had used up more of Sakura's chakra than he had meant to. In a few minutes, he felt her arms slowly slip as her body began falling to her right. Now matter how hard she tried, her body just refused to use any more energy than needed and decided that falling on the floor was a good way to save it. Still half-concious, she waited to feel the hard, cold ground, but instead was caught in a strong pair of arms.

True, Sakura was and had been the strongest of the group since she was fourteen. And she probably still was. But together, Sasuke and Sakura made a perfect team. Together, they took blows meant for the other. Together, they kicked Kumori's ass. But the most important thing was that they fought, side by side, never abandoning the other in the midst of the battle.

And they were together in that field, beside the roasted body of the Akatsuki leader, in the midst of craters made by punches and kicks, cuts in the trees, and scattered weapons.

Sasuke winced. A lot of damage had been done because of one fight. And it wasn't even with Itachi. _I should have known that he wouldn't have come... _

"Sasuke..." He glanced down to see Sakura with her eyes half open, the jade in her irises making the greenest grass look dead, her long, dark lashes framing the beautiful orbs.

"If you're... coming back with us... _Welcome back..._" Her body began shutting down, and her eyes started closing, betraying the fact that she longed to stay awake. With sheer willpower on her side, her eyes stayed half-open.

"Hn." He stood up since she was already in his arms, shifted her so that she'd be comfortable(there were an awful lot of cuts on her body), and began walking around to see if he could find Hinata.

Her vision began to blur, but she still kept her eyes fixed on his now distorted, yet handsome face as he continued to walk. A small smile graced her beautiful face as her eyes began to close ever so slowly.

_Sasuke..._ _you... you still... smell nice..._

She drifted off to sleep with those words in her head.

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"_Where is she?!_" Ino cried, her patience clearly wearing out. She began pacing about as the others sat in the grassy field where they had eaten lunch before.

Like Ino, Naruto was pacing, both worried for Sakura and wanting ramen. It was mostly for ramen though.

"Sakura-chan can take care of herself, Ino-chan," Tenten irritably sighed, lying back on the grass while twirling a few _very sharp _kunai on her finger at a very dangerous speed. Had it been anybody other than Tenten or Sakura, the kunai would have flown off their finger, slicing anything in its way. But she's called the weapons master for a reason.

"But even if she can take care of herself, she's gotta get help once in a while!! I mean, I know she's strong and everything, but seriously, making us worry like this? And I'll have you know..." Ino continued ranting, successfully irritating the beautiful bun-haired girl even more, if that was possible.

Watching Naruto pace and talk about ramen was already enough, but Naruto _AND_ Ino? Nu-uh. **Noooo.** Shikamaru lazily sat back and watched the clouds pass by. Neji leaned against a tree, watching for any disturbances in chakra around the area while Hinata was sleeping with her head on her medical bag, which was almost empty since everyone had sustained major injuries that both needed her chakra and supplies to heal.

Sai and Chouji were talking about... Potato chips?

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"Lays are better than Pringles!" Chouji screamed.

"What are you talking about?! PRINGLES KICK ASS!!" Sai declared.

"Lays have more taste!!" Chouji argued. Sai smirked.

"Well... as you already know..." Sai stated, "Pringles... come... in a can...", ending the last part in a slow, haunting voice, holding a flashlight under his chin as thunder flashed in the background.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOT THE CAAAN!" Chouji cried in agony, directing his shouts to the sky as he rolled over, unconscious. Sai stood up, holding a Pringles can in your face.

"Never. Mess. With. The. Power. Of. PRINGLES!!" He screamed. Suddenly turning calm, he put on a smile. "Pringles are available at your nearest grocery store for only two dollars for four! Why? BECAUSE I SAY SO!"

Lesson of the day? Don't ever mention Lays in front of Sai unless you're dissing it. Got it? Good. (**PRINGLES FOR LIFE!!**)

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Ino was still ranting, and Tenten... Well, Tenten was just pissed. And do not _ever_ get Tenten pissed unless you are her friend. Fortunately for Ino, she was a best friend. Tenten was just about to throw only one well aimed kunai at Ino's face(for a normal friend, it would have been 10) when Neji shouted, "Sakura!"

The gang, including Hinata, who had woken up as soon as Ino had started her rant, turned their heads to the road, seeing a pink blob coming towards them. Sai, however, had the best vision, and saw who Sakura was with. Or rather... who Sakura was being carried by.

"Uchiha..." he growled. Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers. Sasuke, here? Ramen could wait. Sasuke couldn't.

"SASUKE, YOU TEME!!!" he shouted, running towards the two so fast, even light, which travels almost a few hundred miles a SECOND, would be jealous.

"TEME!" Naruto gleefully yelled, launching a playful punch at the Uchiha's back.

"Dobe, that _hurt._" Sasuke emotionlessly replied. "Don't make me drop her, dead last." Only then did Naruto realize that Sakura was in Sasuke's arms.

"SAKU-CHAN!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

Upon hearing this, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were at Sasuke's side immediately, the three yanking Sakura from his arms so they could examine her(Well, more of Ino and Tenten, Hinata politely bowed while saying, "Hello, Sasuke-san" before she did any yanking). Ino's face paled as soon as she saw Sakura's condition, Tenten winced, and Hinata was on the verge of fainting. Sakura's body was soaked in rich blood since she had hugged Sasuke from behind, where his open injury was. However... the girls had absolutely no idea what had transpired between the two, and they thought the blood was hers. Sai came a few seconds later, checking to make sure she wasn't harmed, which, in reality, was true, but in the eyes of anyone that didn't know what Sakura and Sasuke had been through, Sakura looked as if she was dead.

Sai's eyes narrowed at his look-alike. "What the hell happened to her? What did you do?!" he yelled, grabbing Sasuke's shirt and pushing him up against the wall, away from the rest of the group.

"I didn't do anything."

"Why in seven hells didn't you protect her?!" Sai tightened his hold on the boy's shirt, pushing him up even further.

"I didn't see _you_ fighting with her. And I sure as hell didn't see _you_ jumping to her rescue," Sasuke spat, his patience betraying himself. Seeing as he couldn't say anything against that, Sai reluctantly let go of Sasuke. Sasuke calmly began walking toward the group, since Sai had taken him to the side of a building about ten feet away from where he was standing before. As soon as he passed Sai, though, the boy grabbed his arm and made Sasuke face him. They both stood at 5' 9", staring at each other's eyes with equal intensity.

"Just because Sakura loved you all those years ago and gave you her heart doesn't mean she can't love again. Hell, I don't know if she still likes you, but if she wants me, anytime, anywhere, I'm giving myself to her without a second thought. So tell me now- Do you even have the slightest interest in her? 'Cause if you don't, you might as well leave her alone." When Sasuke failed to answer, Sai repeated the question, although it came out much harsher than the first time.

"Do you or not?!" he roared, his bone crushing grip on Sasuke's wrist tightening by the second.

"I d-" Sasuke was just about to say no when he glanced over at Sakura, who was peacefully sleeping under a tree about twenty feet away, surrounded by flowers and grass._ Ino, Tenten, and Hinata must have cleaned her up and put her there... _he thought. He continued to watch her take slow, deep breaths, her chest rising and falling as she did so. Her body was so... alluring. Even Sasuke, the _definition _of self-control, had a hard time trying not to look at her. Her eyes were closed once again, framed by the thickest lashes Mother Nature had probably ever doled out. Her lips were stained a delicate cherry red, cheeks tinted pink from exhaustion, flawless white skin covering her curvaceous body, elegant fingers that you'd never guess would know the meaning of death... Her face, her eyes, her voice... everything had changed. But deep inside, she was still Sakura, the same old Sakura, even if she didn't love him anymore. And it was here when Sasuke finally realized it.

"I do."

_**He had missed her.

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**_

**Was this a good comeback? Please tell me!! I tried to stick in a lot of SasuxSaku fluff... is it okay? **

**And I'm sorry that I didn't have time to do this earlier!! Give me credit!! My eyes hurt. I've only had this computer for about four hours, and I wrote this chapter in one sitting! THAT'S HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU GUYS. (hug)**

**Please don't hate me. I'd appreciate it if you didn't flame. Like I've said a billion times before, this is my first story, and I'm only 13. Give me credit for _trying_ to type stories well! And this was a comeback chapter! ****You don't really go expecting a person to be gone for almost two or three months, then come back with a kick ass chapter! It's like being really good at DDR and suddenly finding out you stink again after four months! (I just found that out today, I used to play heavy/challenge, but now, I don't know... -sigh- I used to kick all my friends' asses at that game... -cry-)**

**Anyway, love ya. -kiss- **

**Angie... or... _littlechineseazngirl_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any copyrighted material I'm using.**

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**Thanks so much to...**

**Spread-MyWingz-And-Soar-** Thanks so much. My life is... a bit boring. And it's really tiring. :[ Lots of crap's been going on. The life of an 8th grader is a lot harder than parents think it is. Haha. Thanks for waiting, here's a few chapters for you!

**VcChick- **I'm having fun at my school, thanks so much for asking: A few chapters for you to satisfy any frustration you've collected while waiting. :

**Rob- **Thank you so much. You're so nice, thanks for checking back constantly! And thanks for the two reviews. They mean a lot more to me than you think. Haha.

**Odat- **Thank you! Japan's really hard to adjust to. Before I moved, I could already speak some Japanese. But I'm learning, and that's what counts, I guess. Haha. Thanks for waiting, a few chapters for you are right here. :

**Mysterious-Moon06- **Here's your update(s)!!

**attack of the fish- **I love your name. It's freaking awesome. XD

**Xxfirefoxxx- **SAKURA SHALL FOREVER KICK ASS IN MY FICS. Because she really deserves to have some credit. Anyway, thanks for waiting, here's a few updates for you!

**Falling Demon- **Where are you moving? You at least still have some time with your friends left before you go. I had a month... :[ But thanks for waiting, here are a few chappies. lol.

**4everDestined- **Actually, it has been guessed that the remaining Akatsuki is a female. I know my fanfic is a bit weird, but I am too. Haha.

Okay, I know that I'm being really mean to everyone else, but I seriously want to finish this chapter and if I write responses to everyone who reviewed, it would probably take more than a day. ): I'd like to thank the following people:** C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, Pink-love-lost, Babybugichoo95, kmkoolj2010, littlehomieeex3, inuyashgurl, ShadowRonin, fightingsurfgrl, gymgurl520, kyonekolover, UchihaLuvrAnime, Angel Goddess, PhantomAngel17, TenTenXIrista, Anonymous, WinterRequiem, velvettears81969, nickygirl, Lil Devil 66, dark Alley, ForeheadKAT, cagalli-01, Pinkis, Shinobi of life, gaarafaves, Skullcandy, princessaly, Michiru, The.World.Is.MineXD, kattylin, allthegoodpennamesaretaken, xHitokiri-Elektrax, SCREAM-jessamy, Rob, sharinganblossom212, Sa-chan, Sirona of Arabia, flame, Neya, aznchick99, ello, and NorthernLights25. **You guys are all so patient, it almost makes me want to cry. THANK YOU!

On with the story! (How long has it been since I said that?)

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My Cherry Blossom

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**Last time**...

_"Just because Sakura loved you all those years ago and gave you her heart doesn't mean she can't love again. Hell, I don't know if she still likes you, but if she wants me, I'm giving myself to her without a second thought. So tell me now- Do you even have the slightest interest in her? 'Cause if you don't, you might as well leave her alone." When Sasuke failed to answer, Sai repeated the question, although it came out much harsher than the first time._

_"Do you or not?!" he roared, his bone crushing grip on Sasuke's wrist tightening by the second._

_"I d-" Sasuke was just about to say no when he glanced over at Sakura, who was peacefully sleeping under a tree about twenty feet away, surrounded by flowers and grass. _Ino, Tenten, and Hinata must have cleaned her up and put her there... he thought. _He continued to watch her take slow, deep breaths, her chest rising and falling as she did so. Her body was so... _alluring_. Even Sasuke, the _definition_ of self-control, had a hard time trying not to look at her. Her eyes were closed once again, framed by the thickest lashes on Earth. Her lips were stained a delicate cherry red, cheeks tinted pink from exhaustion, flawless white skin covering her curvaceous body, elegant fingers that you'd never guess would know the meaning of death... Her face, her eyes, her voice... everything had changed. But deep inside, she was still Sakura, the same old Sakura, even if she didn't love him anymore. And it was here when Sasuke finally realized it._

_"I do."_

* * *

Sai's eyes widened, his jaw dropping as he heard Sasuke's answer. As soon as he regained composure, he sent Sasuke a death glare. "Say it again. And no jokes. You either tell me the truth or you don't. So don't lie to me. Now tell me, one more time, that you are interested in her, and I'll let you go."

_How retarded can this guy _getSasuke irritably thought. _I told him I did, now he wants me to say it _again

"Yes, you dimwit. I do have an... _interest_ in her. Although I don't think it's anywhere close to yours. So put me down already. Ino wants an explanation," Sasuke spat, glancing over at the furious blonde, and he could swear that her normally blue eyes were flaming red. _Great_, Sasuke groaned_, even_ more_ overprotective friends to deal with. _Sai nodded and reluctantly let him down. Sasuke watched as Sai promptly turned around to run to his love interest who was currently dozing under the tree.

"Sasuke!" Ino called, waving at the Uchiha. "Get over here!" Not wanting to anger Ino more than she already was, Sasuke walked towards her, mentally bracing himself for what was to come. He had only walked five steps before Ino popped in front of his face, her eyes a blue ocean of liquid anger.

"What. The. Hell. _Happened?!_" she shrieked. Sasuke tried not to wince. She was, after all, Ino. And _Ino_ plus _shrieking_ plus _right next to your face_ equals _MAJOR __**OUCH**_

"Like I've already said to my look-alike over there, I didn't do anything." At this, Ino calmed down._ Women and PMS. What the hell?_

"Sasuke, either you're telling the truth about not doing anything to her or you're lying. For all I know, you could have cut her and she healed herself. Then you might have knocked her out, bringing her over here so it looked as if you were innocent! Are you gonna use Konoha again so you can beat your brother?" Ino grew more and more furious as she continued her... rant. Forget rant. She took that to a whole new level.

_She's still Ino..._ Sasuke sighed. _Is that a good or bad thing?_

"Ino, if that really had happened, Akatsuki's leader would still be on our tail," he replied, pure boredom emanating from his monotonous voice.

The said woman paused her 'rant' for a few moments, then heaved a great sigh. Whatever fun she was having before was now long gone, replacing itself with the seriousness only an experienced kunoichi would know of. "That might be so, Sasuke. But before any of us trust you, Sakura needs to tell us what happened herself. And I'm representing our whole group... not just me." Since Sasuke's 5' 8", and Ino's 5' 6", he had to look down in order to look her in the eye. But as soon as he looked up, he saw that everyone was staring at him. Their eyes held no hate or spite, but a rather... strange kindness.

"So, Sasuke, I'll give you my word that if Sakura tells us that you _are_ innocent, we'll accept you back into Konoha if you wish to come along willingly. But I have to ask if you _are_ coming back with us. After all, no point in dragging you along. You'd escape after a single day," Ino laughed, knowing it would be true. "Oh my god, Sasuke... you missed so much while you were in Sound!! Like, gosh..." As she continued her rant, Sasuke was debating whether or not he would travel back to Konoha.

_Do I really want to go back?_ Sasuke thought. _Is there any point in asking myself that question? Of course I want to go. I have nothing left here. Orochimaru is dead, his hideout's been blown up... All I have to do is track my brother and kill him. Konoha is willing to provide refuge. Maybe..._

"Ino," he called out, promptly stopping her little speech about how Shikamaru had asked her out, and all the dates they've been on, etc. "Yes, Sasuke?"

"If..." he found it hard to find the right words, "If I _was_ going to return to Konoha, and I proved myself loyal... What if I left to hunt my brother down again?" Almost immediately, Ino's once bubbly personality changed.

"Sasuke..." Ino began, she too trying to find the right words, " I think... I think it'd be best to leave that up to the Godaime..."

"Hn," he replied, walking off to the group. Ino watched his retreating back sadly.

* * *

"TEME!!" Naruto cried, bounding over to Sasuke, giving him a good, firm whack to the head.

"What the hell, dobe?!" Sasuke glared at the blonde, and if looks could kill, Naruto wouldn't even have an afterlife.

Naruto sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Just making sure you were real," he replied.

_Che. Idiot. _Sasuke couldn't help but smirk to himself. _Some things never change._

"H-hi, Sasuke-san..." Hinata shyly greeted.

"Sasuke-san, are you back for good?" Tenten wanted to know.

"You want potato chips?" No need to even think about who even asked that question.

"Troublesome..."

He continued greeting the rest of the group with his signature "Hn."

Neji stepped forward. "So, Uchiha, are you coming back with us or not? And despite what Ino said, we trust you... if only just a little."

"Aa," Sasuke gave Neji a glare for the last comment. "I'm coming." Neji smirked.

"I look forward to kicking your sorry ass for what you did to Saku-chan." Bad move. The gang started getting riled up.

"I'm gonna beat you two thousand times, teme! One thousand for me, and the rest for Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted.

"If we hadn't been ordered to take you back alive, I'd have killed you by now!" Chouji said while chewing his chips chewing his chips.

"I'm going to make you _pay_ for all the tears she cried for you, bastard," Sai glared.

"I'm just...(yawn) gonna give you a good ass kicking..." Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome..."

"We're gonna punch you so hard that the Wind Country could hear you!!" Ino and Tenten shrieked.

Everyone looked at Hinata, seeing as she was the only one that hadn't made a threat yet. "U-U-Uhmmmmm..." Hinata nervously stuttered, pushing her fingers together.

"Hinata-chan, think about how Sakura-chan felt after he left!" Ino screamed. Hinata suddenly stopped pushing her fingers and looked up at the towering Uchiha.(She's only 5' 4"... haha)

"Sasuke-san... I'm gonna jack one of Tenten's bamboo poles, shove it up your ass, and roast you over a fire until all that's left is your chicken-ass hair!" As soon as she stopped, she hurriedly covered her mouth using both hands. Everyone's jaws dropped. Who knew Hinata could be so... **bold**? (WOOT WOOT, HINATA!!)

"Sakura-chan must really have rubbed off on you..." Neji muttered.

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed. _Those punishments are nothing._ _Although Hinata's actually sounds somewhat painful._

"Is that really all you can say? Wow, Uchiha, you've got quite the extensive vocabulary range," Neji snorted. At this remark, the gang, except for Sasuke, laughed.

"Good one, Gay Lord, good one," Naruto managed to say. The group laughed again, and even Sasuke had to smirk. Neji's normally pale face began turning crimson. Sasuke couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

"Why you li-" Neji began.

"SAKURA-CHAN'S WAKING UP!!" Tenten shrieked, and the mob hurriedly made its way towards the half awake pink haired medic. Sasuke was the only one left, standing planted in the spot he was in, watching everything from the corner of his eye.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Ino cried, waterfalls of tears pouring from her blue eyes as she squeezed the life from her friend. Sakura's delicately pale skin began turning blue. "Ino... can't... BREATHE..." she choked out. Ino gasped, letting go immediately. As soon as Ino's vice-like grip was relinquished from her neck, Sasuke could have sworn Sakura was inflating.

"Are you alright?! What did the teme do? Did he hurt you? Cause if he did, I'll kick his ass! No, I'll do worse! His goal is to revive his clan, and he can't do that unless he has his p-" Naruto was effectively cut off with a whack to his head. Shikarmaru, his fist still in the air after his attack, muttered "Troublesome."

"Sasuke?" Sakura's jaded eyes wandered from the group to the loner standing about 20 feet away. As soon as they landed on their target, she tried to get up.

"Sasuke!" she hoarsely called out before being pushed back down by Neji. A water bottle was pushed into her chapped lips.

"Drink first... talk later." Sai blushed as Sakura curiously looked at him, the water bottle he was holding still slightly inside her mouth. She started drinking, fully welcoming the feeling of the cool water going down her parched throat.

"Arigatou, Sai-kun..." she sighed, taking the bottle and drinking a good half of it.

"No problem..." A sweet smile tugged on his face.

"Hag."

Water spurt from her mouth.

And bruises came later.

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**Ew. Not my best chapter, but I'm gonna see how much of MCB I can get done without rushing. Haha. :) I won't ask for reviews cause I know this was a horrible chapter. I just thought that this would have been a good exit line. **

**Anyway, please, before you flame or scream at me for why I haven't updated in forever, please read my author's note in the next chapter. PLEASE.**

**Always yours, littlechineseazngirl**


	10. Chapter 10

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

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**I know it's been a few MONTHS (gasp) since I've updated. I want to tell you all about a few things that have been going on lately in my life that may help you understand my situation at the moment. Please take the time to read this before you jump to conclusions.**

When I moved to Japan in December, I didn't move immediately into my new house. We had to stay at some hotel for **TLF (don't ask, no idea what it is either**). They did have internet, but they didn't have any programs that would let me type my stories up. I know it sounds really stupid, but I can't explain what the computers were like. Okay, here. Well, when you turn on the computer, this black screen with three big buttons and a picture pops up. Those three buttons were **INTERNET, TOURS**, and something else I forgot. If I attempted to use the computers for any other purposes than those three mentioned above, my family would be in BIG trouble.

When I finally moved into my house on January 5th (**which REALLY sucked because I spent my Christmas in a boring hotel and we couldn't go anywhere**), I didn't even have my computer until February 27th. The reason I was able to update on January 31st was because I asked one of my friends if I could upload it on her computer.

When I started school on the 8th of January, I was already expected to finish up on projects that kids in my class had a month to work on. They were due on the 1st of February. I had **SIX** major projects worth **200 points** or more **EACH** due on the **FIRST OF FEBRUARY**. Not good. Haha.

And while I will admit that I was lazy and didn't write for about one month, it didn't matter because I didn't get Internet connection in my house until** APRIL**.

What happened in May, will you ask? I had **FINALS**. Big, long 8th grade finals to study for. Not to mention that these kids had studied different subjects than I had back in the states. I stayed after school almost every day to ask for help from my teachers. And let me say, I have a **LOT** of pride. Saying sorry to a person is easier for me than asking for help. So yes, I will admit that while being a straight A student, I didn't understand a lot of what they were trying to teach me.

**And NOW! This is the big part, the part that needs you to become involved. I always have emergency chapters ready for times like this when I can't update fast enough. Emergency chapters SUCK and are not a reflection of my skill as a writer. However, I only post them when I am dire need of inspiration.**

**_I AM HAVING MAJOR WRITER'S BLOCK WITH THIS STORY_.**

Please help me and offer some suggestions for what should happen next, because I haven't been writing in so long that my inspiration has left.

If this has not convinced you to not flame me, then please, go ahead and flame. I deserve it.

Thanks for everything.

_**Always yours, littlechineseazngirl**_

**P.S. I forgot to tell you all! I was hacked as well, starting around the middle of March to the middle of June. Otherwise, I would have posted this chapter up earlier. I couldn't get my password back because I use the same password for most of my accounts on both email and myspace. I have an idea who it is. If you have recieved any nasty emails from this account or my email, IT WAS NOT ME.**


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